What benefits can servers get in California?
The short answer
The rule in California
| Disability Insurance (SDI) | Up to 52 weeks of benefits for your own non-work illness, injury, or pregnancy, if you can’t do your regular work for at least eight days, a doctor or practitioner certifies it, and you earned at least $300 with SDI deducted. Apply through myEDD. |
|---|---|
| Paid Family Leave | Up to 8 weeks in a 12-month period to bond with a new child, care for a seriously ill family member, or help with a family member’s military deployment. You need $300 in earnings with SDI paid in the last 18 months. It pays benefits but doesn’t protect your job. |
| Weekly benefit, 2026 | About 70–90% of the wages you earned 5 to 18 months before your claim, from $50 up to $1,765 a week. Workers pay 1.3% of wages into SDI in 2026, and there has been no wage ceiling since 2024. |
| Paid sick leave | At least 40 hours or five days a year once you’ve worked 30 days for one employer, earned at 1 hour per 30 worked. Unused hours come back if you’re rehired within 12 months. |
| CalEITC, tax year 2025 | Up to $3,756 for earned income of $1 to $32,900, including tips. You must be at least 18 or have a qualifying child. Claim it on form FTB 3514 with your state return. |
| Young Child Tax Credit, tax year 2025 | Up to $1,189 per return if you have a child under 6 at year end and qualify for CalEITC (with one exception). |
| Medi-Cal | California’s Medicaid program. Adults qualify with income up to 138% of the federal poverty level; children up to 266%. |
| Covered California state help, 2026 | California funds its own premium tax credits for people earning up to 165% of the poverty level, up to $23,475 a year for one person, to hold premiums near 2025 levels. |
“If eligible, you may receive benefit payments for up to 8 weeks in a 12-month period. The minimum weekly benefit amount is $50, and the maximum is $1,765 per week.” (California EDD: Paid Family Leave)
What’s different in California
Look at your pay stub for the line marked CASDI. That 1.3% pays for two state insurance programs. If a back injury from a weekend hike keeps you off the floor for two weeks, Disability Insurance can pay part of your wages; if a parent needs care or a baby arrives, Paid Family Leave can. Both only need $300 in covered earnings, so part-time hours can be enough.
The state also stepped in on health costs. Covered California says the extra federal premium help ended on December 31, 2025, and California put state money toward credits for lower earners in 2026. At tax time, CalEITC counts tips as earned income, and a parent of a child under 6 can add the Young Child Tax Credit. All of this sits on top of the federal programs.
Official sources
- California EDD: Paid Family Leave
- California EDD: Am I eligible for Disability Insurance benefits?
- California EDD: Contribution rates and benefit amounts
- California Labor Commissioner: Paid sick leave
- California FTB: CalEITC eligibility and credit information
- California FTB: Young Child Tax Credit
- Covered California: Medi-Cal
- Covered California: open enrollment ends with state subsidies (Feb. 26, 2026)
- Covered California: Important changes
Last verified
. Checked the agency pages linked above.
Still open: The EDD pages we read don’t say how reported tips enter the wages used to figure an SDI or Paid Family Leave benefit. Ask EDD before counting on a number. CalEITC figures are for tax year 2025.