The state disability insurance (sdi) program provides short-term benefits to eligible workers who:

Short-Term Disability

Short-Term Disability (STD) coverage, through Unum, provides some income replacement if you are unable to work due to an illness or injury. You are automatically enrolled in STD at no cost to you. Coverage is effective the first day of the month following your date of hire.  

Short-Term Disability (STD) 

• Percent of Earnings: 60% 
• Weekly Maximum: $3,000 
• Waiting Period: 30 days
• Maximum Duration: 150 days during a 12-month period (following the required 30-day elimination period)

Employees may use their sick bank or PTO during the 30 calendar day elimination period and may continue using it to supplement their disability benefits up to 100% of weekly pre-disability compensation.

Paid Leave Supplement to STD Benefit

Employees are required to use accrued paid leave during the 30-day waiting period for short-term disability benefits, including the use of accrued annual leave and/or compensatory time once accrued sick leave has been exhausted.

Employees who elect to be made whole will use accrued sick leave first, then annual leave or compensatory time as available. 

Taxation of STD Benefits

Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 105 indicates that STD benefits, as sick pay, are to be included in the gross income of employees if the employer pays part or all of the premium for the STD coverage. In these situations, the STD disability benefits received by the employee are subject to federal taxation. The State of Colorado pays the entire STD insurance premium which means that the STD benefits received are 100% taxable to the employee.

PERA Defined Benefit Vested Employee &, Unum Short-Term Disability (STD)

Employees with at least five years of PERA Defined Benefit (DB) Retirement Plan covered employment service may be eligible for PERA STD benefits. The Unum STD insurance coverage will always coordinate with an employee’s PERA STD coverage. The PERA STD benefits will always be the primary STD benefits and will be an offset to Unum STD benefits.

PLEASE NOTE: Paid leave supplements will offset PERA disability payments. Employees should stop paid leave supplements prior to the commencement of PERA disability benefits.

California State Disability Insurance (SDI)

California State Disability Insurance (SDI) is a short-term public insurance program run by California's Employment Development Department (EDD). SDI pays you about 55% of what you used to make at work because you:

• Have a non-work-related illness or injury. These SDI payments may continue for up to a year.
• Need to take Paid Family Leave (PFL) to care for a sick relative or to bond with a new child. PFL payments are for up to eight weeks, or
• Are pregnant. Note: Pregnancy Disability Leave is not covered in this article. If you have questions about it, contact the EDD.

Important: If you are sick due to COVID-19 or caring for somebody who is sick due to COVID-19, you may qualify for SDI or PFL benefits. See EDD's questions and answers about COVID-19 and the state of California's chart of all the different benefits that may help families impacted by COVID-19.

To get SDI, you must have had California SDI taxes (usually 1.1% of your wages) taken out of your pay for a certain period of time. If you've done this, SDI will replace some of the income you’re losing when you can’t work for one of the above reasons.

There are three main ways to be covered by SDI:

• Most California employees (but not all) are automatically covered under the State Plan.
• Some employers offer private Voluntary Plans instead (these plans must provide coverage at least as good as the SDI State Plan, plus have at least one feature the State Plan doesn't have). Learn more about Voluntary Plans.
• If you are self-employed or a business owner, you can pay to get Elective Coverage, which only provides benefits for 39 weeks instead of a full year. Learn more about Elective Coverage.

The rest of this article has more details focusing on the State Plan's SDI and PFL benefits.

Comparing SDI with other programs

State Disability Insurance (SDI) provides short-term benefits if you can't work because of a non-job-related injury or illness. Other programs are sometimes confused with SDI:

• Workers' Compensation provides benefits if you can't work because of a job-related injury or illness.
• Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) provides long-term benefits to people who have paid into the system (through payroll taxes while working for at least a minimum amount of time) and can't work because of a disability.
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI) provides long-term benefits to low-income people with disabilities, who are blind, or who are at least 65.
• Unemployment Insurance (UI) is an employer-paid program that gives short-term benefits to people who are unemployed. (You cannot get SDI and UI at the same time.)
• Private Short-Term Disability Insurance and Long-Term Disability Insurance are benefits that employers may provide or that you may pay to get from private insurance companies.

Learn more about SDI and Other Programs.

Get Expert Help

DB101 cannot answer questions about your situation. If you have questions about your SDI claim or want to apply for SDI, please contact the EDD.

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