Information provided by Cal Chamber.

Small businesses in California that have at least one employee utilizing Paid Family Leave (PFL) on or after June 1, 2024 may be eligible to apply for state grants up to $2,000 per employee.

Funded by the California Employment Training Panel and California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, California’s Paid Family Leave Grant program is geared toward helping small businesses offset the increased costs that may arise when an employee is out on leave, such as cross-training existing staff, and hiring and training new and/or temporary employees.

California’s PFL program provides eligible employees with up to 8 weeks of wage replacement benefits when the employee is off work for certain qualifying reasons, such as to bond with a new child or to care for a seriously ill family member.

Eligibility

Grants are available in the following amounts:

• Businesses with 51–100 employees may receive up to $1,000 per employee utilizing Paid Family Leave.
• Businesses with 1–50 employees may receive up to $2,000 per employee utilizing Paid Family Leave.

To qualify, businesses must:

• Have at least one employee who used California’s Paid Family Leave program on or after June 1, 2024.
• Employ between 1 and 100 employees;
• Be registered to do business in the State of California;
• Be in an active status with the office of the California Secretary of State; and
• Have an active California Employer Account Number under which employees are listed for payroll.

Small businesses using a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) for payroll services are not eligible for the grant.

For more information or to apply for a grant, visit CaliforniaPFL.com.