San Francisco cuts parental leave eligibility
San Francisco has shortened the eligibility period for its Paid Parental Leave Ordinance, reducing the required employment tenure from 180 days to 90 days. The change applies immediately but includes a phased rollout based on employer size.
Who qualifies under the new rules
The ordinance covers employers with 20 or more workers worldwide, no matter where those employees are located. To qualify, a worker must log at least eight hours per week within the city, perform 40% of their total weekly hours there, and meet California’s Paid Family Leave benefit requirements for bonding with a new child.
Part-time and temporary staff are eligible if they meet these conditions. The updates leave the wage supplementation structure unchanged—employers must still pay the difference between the state benefit and an employee’s full weekly wage, up to an existing cap.
A staggered transition for smaller employers
The 90-day eligibility standard won’t begin for all businesses right away. Employers with 100 or more employees must keep the 180-day requirement through December 31, 2026. Those with 20 to 99 workers have until the end of 2027 before the shorter waiting period takes effect.
Related: Color for Safety Not a Trademark
Workers gain faster access to full wage replacement during parental leave. A new hire in January could now qualify by April instead of waiting until July. However, the ordinance doesn’t provide job protection—it only requires wage supplementation for those already eligible under state law.
The update supports efforts to make parental leave more accessible, especially for short-term and part-time employees who might not stay long enough to meet the previous 180-day requirement. It also aligns with California’s state-level rules, which don’t set a minimum tenure for wage replacement benefits.
Steps for employers
Covered employers must check an employee’s tenure—either 90 days or the applicable transition requirement—before approving supplemental pay. They must also confirm the worker qualifies for state Paid Family Leave benefits and determine the difference between that benefit and the employee’s full wage.
Documentation rules stay the same. Employers must keep records from both the employee and the state program, though the amendments don’t introduce new reporting requirements.
Related: Copyright claim deadline upheld in key ruling
The ordinance doesn’t replace or extend job-protected leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act or California’s equivalent. Instead, it adds a layer to those protections, ensuring workers receive full pay during the eight weeks of bonding leave if they meet the city’s criteria.
For businesses with operations outside San Francisco, the global employee count still matters. A company with 15 workers in the city and 10 abroad would meet the 20-employee threshold, even with a small local presence.
The updates don’t address other parental leave issues, such as coverage for adoptive parents or surrogacy arrangements. Those situations remain under state law, which has separate eligibility rules. San Francisco’s ordinance focuses only on wage supplementation for bonding leave, leaving other aspects of family leave policy unchanged.
