In the FAQ section of PFL, it states

# Am I required by law to use my vacation leave when collecting Paid Family Leave insurance benefits?

The law gives an employer the discretion (option) to require an employee to take up to two weeks of earned but unused vacation leave. Vacation leave may include paid time off. This option does not relieve employers of any collective-bargaining duties they may have with respect to vacation leave.

However,

My company HR tells me that my whole vacation will be used up before I start my PFL. I have more than 4 weeks of vacation accumalated. Can they do that? or I am reading the FAQ wrong. Please advice?

You are reading the FAQ correctly -- 2 weeks is the maximum you can be required to use.

For benefit of those reading in other states, most if not all other states WOULD permit the employer to require the use of all available paid leave.

Thanks.

I called the PFL helpline and the rep there indicated that the employer may ask you to exhaust your complete vacation, but in CA, PFL starts after 2 weeks of employee's vacation has been used (i.e. PFL honors the employer for first 2 weeks) irrespective of how many more vacation days are left. Therefore, starting 3rd week if one is still getting paid from the employer for vacation hours, PFL starts paying out the cheque.:confused:

Curious07: Your reply posting is a little unclear, and I want to make sure you understand the rules:

1. PFL starts after a 7 day waiting period -- mandatory for everyone regardless of how many vacation hours you have in the bank with you employer.

2. Your employer may require that you use up to 2 weeks of vacation while on leave - no more. If you are on your 3rd week of PFL and don't want to use your vacation (i.e., you would like to save it for a 'real vacation' when you come back from PFL), your employer can not force it upon you.

Thanks BSPCPA.

2. Your employer may require that you use up to 2 weeks of vacation while on leave - no more. If you are on your 3rd week of PFL and don't want to use your vacation (i.e., you would like to save it for a 'real vacation' when you come back from PFL), your employer can not force it upon you.

That's not what the representative at PFL said. Hence the reason to confuse me more. According to her, the employer can force me to use all my vacation. And if my vacation hours are more than 2 weeks, the PFL will start paying me from the 3rd week.

PFL only honors employers request to exhaust the employees vacation for first 2 weeks and if employer wants the empoyee to use more than 2 weeks of vacation, then the PFL will still start.

So the employee who has 4 weeks of vacation -

1st week - vacation pay
2nd week - vacation pay
3rd week - vacation pay + PFL(55%)
4th week - vacation pay +PFL(55%)
5th -8th week - PFL

Sorry about being unclear the last time.

The CA EDD has published a Q & A Bulletin regarding PFL. http://www.edd.ca.gov/direp/pflfaq1.asp#Taxability

No 15:Am I required by law to use my vacation leave when collecting Paid Family Leave insurance benefits?

The law gives an employer the discretion (option) to require an employee to take up to two weeks of earned but unused vacation leave. Vacation leave may include paid time off. This option does not relieve employers of any collective-bargaining duties they may have with respect to vacation leave.

This Q&A seems to go to the very matter you are addressing. However, to gain absolute certainty (including in my mind), I will call a contact I have at the EDD tomorrow and post back to you.

Thanks BSPCPA.

Curious07: Sorry about being unclear the last time.

Allow me to extend the same apology to you and explain more accurately the intertwining of Vacation Pay and PFL.

Before any employee can start receiving PFL benefits, he/she must wait 7 days. This is a mandatory waiting period prescribed by law, and it applies to everyone regardless of how many vacation hours they have on the books. An employer can, however, require that an employee use up to 2 weeks of vacation (but no more) before he/she becomes eligible to collect PFL benefits – thus effectively deferring the start of an employee’s PFL another week.

The question du jour is this: Can an employer mandate that an employee take his/her vacation days after he/she becomes eligible to receive PFL insurance payments (i.e., after satisfying either the 1 week mandatory or 2 week employer-extended waiting period discussed above)? EDD Q&A No 15 seem to infer (if not outright state) that employees can not be required by law to use more than 2 weeks of vacation in connection with California’s PFL program. However, as confirmed to me by my contact (a senior manager with PFL oversight responsibilities), this is not the case.

In your first posting, you stated, “My company HR tells me that my whole vacation will be used up before I start my PFL.” This is not an accurate correct statement, but I’m not sure it makes much of a difference to you as your company can force you to use 2 weeks of vacation before your PFL starts and the other 2 weeks while actually on PFL.

End result: When you come off PFL, it seems you will have no vacation.