More CA SDI Info - Lengthy but Important
More CA SDI Info - Lengthy but Important
Nigella,
If your mom lives and works in CA, she needs to apply for SDI asap. I think there is a time limit for filing a claim and she doesn't want to lose any potential benefits. The form is pretty straight-forward.....there is a portion that she has to fill out, then she needs to take it to her dr for him/her to fill out their part. You can download the form from the State of California Employment Development Department's web page. I believe it is even a fill-in form. Some drs do charge for filling out their portion of the form but most drs don't. Unless there was a medical necessity, she may not qualify for SDI benefits for the month that she was off pre-op. If your mother's employer allows her to accrue and retain so much sick leave, I am surprised that they are not a "coordinating employer". I actually thought that the state required the employers to coordinate benefits when they have sick leave programs that allow you to retain and build up your sick leave balance. Coordinating benefits is really as good of a deal for the employer as it is the employee. By coordinating benefits, the employer winds up saving money because they only have to pay out approx 45 % of the employee's wages.
As for the medical insurance, it depends on the employers plan. At my hospital, we are self-funded so we have a lot of leeway. We stay on the plan as long as we continue getting sick leave benefits so that our premium can be withheld from our paycheck. If you run out of sick leave, then you can make arrangements to pay your premium in HR or to have extra deductions on your check when you come back to work. Worst case scenario, you can always (and should if necessary) go on COBRA insurance.
Coryp,
If you work in CA, you are probably covered on SDI. Have you noticed the SDI tax deduction on your paycheck? Since your employer is actually in NY, the HR dept may not be familiar with the CA SDI program. If you have any sick leave time available, take it FIRST before your vacation time (per your company's policy of-course). Our company policy requires that the first 4 days have to come out of your PTO bank no matter what and then you can access your sick leave bank. If you have sick leave time, you may be able to save your vacation time. You should be able to file a claim for SDI benefits on the ninth day (calendar days, not work days) that you are off.
As to your questions:
There is a cap on the weekly amount that they pay out(someone that makes $1,000,000 does NOT get to collect 55 % of that!). I am not sure what the cap is but I know that they increased it quite a bit in 2003.
You did understand the benefit amount correctly.....if someone grosses $1,000/week, I think they can expect a weekly benefit of $550 - $575. The benefit amount is based on a look-back period of the previous 4 quarters of wages that were reported to the CA EDD by your employer. I think they are behind by one quarter on their look-back. That would make their current look-back period be Jan 2004 - December 2004. I went back and calculated my benefit from when I was off for my OHS.....I got 57 % of my gross salary.
Yes, the SDI benefits are non-taxable......they do not withhold any taxes and they do not issue you a 1099 at year-end. There are only a couple of reasons why they would reduce a benefit check: (1) You are working part-time. They will send you a calendar to fill out showing how many hours you worked each day and what your gross wages were for those days' work. They will then calculate a loss of wages and reduce your benefit for the time worked. (2) You were overpaid on a previous claim. This could have been a check from the current claim or one from several years ago if it was never paid back. They will then reduce your check to recoup the overpayment. You are right.....if a person grosses $1,000/week when they are working, they probably don't net much more than the $550 - $575 after taxes so they don't really notice that much difference.
I am pretty sure that SDI pays for 52 weeks. Being as part of my job is administering the sick leave coordination with SDI, I know that we have had employees on SDI for much longer than 12 weeks. One employee that I worked with a while back was actually on SDI for more than a year. She worked part-time for some of that time so she didn't always receive her full benefit check. I think they also calculate your maximum benefit (weekly benefit amount X 52 weeks). Becuase this employee didn't always receive full SDI checks, it took her longer than a year to max out her SDI benefit.
The person that told you that SDI only lasts 12 weeks may have been thinking about the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). This is a federal law so it doesn't matter what state you are in. You are entitled to 12 weeks of FMLA leave per year. During that time, the employer must save your position for you or be prepared to place you in a similar position that is equal in responsibilities and in pay upon your return to work. They must notify you that your situation qualifies you for FMLA and tell you of your rights and responsibilities under the FMLA law. The "bad vibes" you are receiving about welcoming you back could be a potential problem (for them!).......they cannot retailiate against you because you are off on FMLA leave. About the only way they can get rid of you while you are on FMLA is a "Reduction in Force" layoff or if you do something against company policy that they could fire you for. Either way, they better be able to prove their position because FMLA affords you some protections.
I know that this is long but I hope it has been informative and helpful. I probably have to explain SDI to one of our approx 800 employees on the average of once every couple of weeks.
Good Luck and let me know if you have any other questions.
Diane
