Taking unpaid medical leave of absence from work and applying for SDI (CA) (file, apply)

[Tech1000]

Hi all,

My employer says that I have exhausted my sick leave (I had covid) and I need to return to work by this wed or they will move me to unpaid sick leave. If I get moved to unpaid sick leave, do I need to provide them with all the medical documentation before I start my leave or I will be fired ? I wasn’t able to make an appt to see my doctor until next week to get the medical documentation but HR says I have til this Wednesday to come back to work or go for unpaid medical leave. If I request to be moved to unpaid leave status, can I just tell them I won’t have the medical docs until next week?

Question 2: I know covid protected leave provides 14 days, is this leave IN ADDITION to any sick days you accrue?

Question 3: for the base period to be used for SDI, can you request for an alternate base period? For example , if you file July 2022, can you request
To use the base. Of April May June 2022 if that was your highest earnings?

Thank you!

[spencgr]

Most of these answers are going to be specific to your company's policies. Since we do not work there, we can not accurately respond.

[Rabrrita]

When saying "SDI" and "California", you have to make it clear which of the these two you're talking about:

1. Short Term Disability (SDI) as provided by the employer through a company private insurance policy.

2. State Disability Insurance (SDI) as provided by the State for qualified employees of private employers.

For private SDI you need to speak with your employer about eh terms and conditions.

For the State, go to their SDI website and start the process. You want to apply as soon as possible as it can take several weeks for approval, especially if the doctors certification will be later on. Just note with state SDI there is no job protection but it does bridge with unemployment benefits if terminated. You may also want to look into FMLA if job protection is needed.