For Expectant Mothers

There are several leaves to which you may be entitled:

Pre-Partum

For maternity leave, you are entitled to up to four weeks off of work prior to your due date for a normal delivery. If you do not use this time prior to the birth, the time cannot be added to the end of your maternity/disability leave. These four weeks are considered Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL) in the state of California and Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) under federal leave rules.

Post-Partum

You are also entitled through the California PDL/FMLA, to take six weeks off after the birth of your baby if it is a vaginal birth. If you have a cesarean section birth (C-Section), you are entitled to take eight weeks off.

Documentation of Pregnancy Disability Leave

You will need to provide a doctor's certificate of disability indicating your last day of work and estimated release to return to work date on or before your leave begins. The certificate should be faxed or mailed to:

HR Benefits Administrator
Human Resources
Pepperdine University
Malibu, CA 90263
310-506-4397
310-506-4839 - fax
benefits@pepperdine.edu

Pay while on Pregnancy Disability Leave/FMLA and State Disability Insurance (SDI)

Disability benefits claims are administered by the state of California through the State Disability Insurance (SDI) program. You must serve a seven-day waiting period before state disability benefits are paid by the state of California, in other words, the state does not pay disability income for the first seven days. Fortunately, you may use any sick or vacation time accrued at the University during the seven-day period and may receive 100% of your normal salary amount. If you do not have sick or vacation time, you will be unpaid by Pepperdine University during these seven days. Faculty members will receive salary continuation less any amount of SDI received during the leave.

On the eighth day of disability, the state of California will begin its payment of benefits. The state pays approximately 60-70% of your weekly salary, up to a maximum of $1,620 per week for 2023. The difference (up to 40%) can be covered by your sick, donated sick or vacation time. If you do not have sick, donated sick or vacation time, you will only receive the 60-70% (or the maximum of $1,620) from the State of California. After your six (or eight weeks) post-partum leave, your pregnancy disability benefits from the state will cease.

Visit the State of California Employment Development Department website for forms and instructions. You may schedule an appointment with an HR Benefits represcentative Perry in Human Resources to complete the forms.

The claim form is in three parts:

You will need to complete the "Claim Statement of Employee" section. Question 18 should be answered: Other: "Accrued leave LESS SDI".
Your physician will need to complete the "Doctor's Certificate."
You will also need to complete the "HIPAA Authorization."

Upon completion, please make copies for your records and submit your forms to:

Employment Development Department
Disability Insurance
PO Box 513096
Los Angeles, CA 90051-1096

As soon as you receive the NOTICE OF COMPUTATION in the U.S. mail from the Employment Development Department (EDD) of the state of California, you should provide this to the HR team. This notice will be used to coordinate how much sick or vacation time can be paid to you by the University during your leave. This process is called the coordination of benefits (coordination between the state and the employer benefits). Please be aware that the coordination of benefits may result in significant reductions in future payroll checks. Employees should be conservative in regard to spending SDI checks until the actual payroll adjustments have been made by the University. You will be notified by Human Resources when the adjustments are made.

California Family Rights Act (CFRA)

Upon completion of your pregnancy disability leave (pre-partum and post-partum), you may be entitled to up to 12 weeks of CFRA benefits in order to bond with your newborn. You will need to complete a Family Leave Application with Pepperdine. The completed form should be returned prior to the start of your CFRA leave. The completed form should be returned to:

HR Benefits Administrator
Human Resources
Pepperdine University
Malibu, CA 90263
310-506-4397
310-506-4839 - fax
benefits@pepperdine.edu

Pay while on CFRA and Paid Family Leave (PFL)

You may be entitled to eight weeks of paid benefits under California Paid Family Leave (PFL). PFL pays 60-70% of your salary up to a maximum of $1,620 per week. The difference (up to 40%) is paid by your sick or vacation time. Your sick/vacation time is coordinated so that you receive 100% of your salary. If you do not have sick or vacation time, you will be unpaid by Pepperdine University during your CFRA. To receive this benefit, you will need to complete the Paid Family Leave Claim form with the state of California. This form should be sent to you by the state at the end of your pregnancy disability leave. Faculty members will receive salary continuation less any amount of PFL received during the leave.

Once your PFL benefits end, the remaining four weeks of CFRA may continue. During this time, you may use your accrued sick or vacation time or be unpaid.

SPECIAL NOTE

Please be aware that if you do not return to work after your CFRA leave, you will be required to repay the University the full cost of benefits extended to you during the CFRA portion of your leave. You should only apply for this extended leave if you are planning to return to work at the end of the leave period.

No repayment will be required if you are unable to return due to the continuation, recurrence, or onset of a serious health condition for yourself or eligible family members as certified by a medical provider, other circumstances beyond your control, or if you return to work for a minimum of 30 days following the leave. If you believe that this type of circumstance applies to you, please contact Human Resources for more information.