San Francisco Paid Parental Leave Ordinance Explained

San Francisco’s Paid Parental Leave Ordinance requires covered employers to pay new parents the difference between their California Paid Family Leave benefit and their full weekly wage, up to a combined cap of $2,522 per week in 2026.¹ The top-off runs for as long as you’re collecting state bonding benefits, which is currently up to eight weeks. California’s program alone replaces only 70% to 90% of wages, and the city ordinance closes that gap so qualifying workers get their full paycheck while bonding with a newborn, adopted, or newly placed foster child.²

Who Qualifies

Three tests decide whether you’re covered. You must have worked for your current employer for at least 180 days before your Paid Family Leave begins, work at least eight hours per week within San Francisco city limits, and perform at least 40% of your total weekly hours in the city.¹ Job title, pay grade, and salaried-versus-hourly status don’t matter.

If you split time between offices, track the location of your hours. Someone working 20 hours a week total with only six in San Francisco clears the eight-hour minimum but fails the 40% test, and doesn’t qualify.

Left a job and came back? Workers who return to the same employer within one year keep credit for their earlier tenure. If you’d already hit 180 days, you don’t restart. If you hadn’t, the earlier days still count toward the requirement.³

Which Employers Must Pay

The ordinance applies to any employer with 20 or more employees, counted across all locations regardless of where those employees work.⁴ A company headquartered out of state with 200 employees nationwide and three people in a San Francisco office is still a covered employer.

Government employers are excluded, including the City and County of San Francisco.⁴ Employers who already offer fully paid parental leave for at least as many weeks as California Paid Family Leave provides are also exempt, since their own policy already meets or exceeds what the ordinance requires.⁵

How the Top-Off Is Calculated

For most workers the math is simple: your employer pays the difference between what the state sends you and your normal gross weekly wage. Earn $2,000 a week and the state pays $1,400? Your employer owes you $600. The combined total brings you back to 100% of your regular pay.⁶

High earners don’t get unlimited top-off. The ordinance caps the combined weekly benefit at $2,522 for 2026.¹ If you make $4,000 a week, you’ll receive the state’s portion plus enough supplemental pay to hit the cap, and you’ll absorb the rest of the shortfall yourself.

Supplemental pay runs for as long as you receive California Paid Family Leave bonding benefits, currently up to eight weeks within a 12-month period.⁷ The obligation is tied to the state benefit. When state payments end, the top-off ends.⁶

How the Ordinance Works with California Paid Family Leave

The city ordinance is not a standalone benefit. It activates only when you’re already receiving California Paid Family Leave for bonding, so you have to file a state claim with the Employment Development Department first. The state program replaces 70% to 90% of your wages depending on income, up to a weekly maximum of $1,765; lower earners get the higher replacement rate.²

Your employer can’t calculate what they owe until you provide documentation of your state benefit amount, so any delay on the state side delays your top-off. Filing online through myEDD is the fastest route.⁷

How to File for Supplemental Pay

You need two documents in your employer’s hands: the San Francisco Paid Parental Leave form and your state Notice of Computation.

The PPLO Form

Your employer should hand you this form once you notify them you’re becoming a parent. It’s also available in several languages on SF.gov.¹ The form collects your personal and employment details and expected leave dates. It also includes an authorization letting the EDD share your benefit information directly with your employer. Signing that authorization makes everything easier. Decline it and you’ll need to obtain your benefit award letter from the EDD yourself and deliver it to payroll.

The Notice of Computation

After you file your state Paid Family Leave claim, the EDD sends you a Notice of Computation (Form DE 429DF) showing your potential weekly benefit amount based on earnings history.⁸ Your employer needs that number to calculate the gap. Check it as soon as it arrives and contact the EDD about any errors before forwarding it.

Submit both documents to HR or payroll. Most employers issue the top-off alongside your regular paycheck.⁹ Start gathering paperwork the moment you file your state claim. Waiting until you’re already on leave to request the PPLO form is a common reason people see a gap in pay during the first weeks of bonding.

Job Protection Comes from Other Laws

The ordinance guarantees supplemental pay. It does not, on its own, protect your job. Job protection during bonding leave comes from two other laws that usually overlap with the PPLO.

The California Family Rights Act covers employees who have worked at least one year for their employer, logged at least 1,250 hours in the past 12 months, and work for an employer with five or more employees. CFRA gives up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave within one year of a child’s birth, adoption, or foster placement, and you’re entitled to return to the same or a comparable position.¹⁰

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act offers a similar 12-week entitlement but applies only to employers with 50 or more employees. FMLA and CFRA run concurrently when both apply, so the total isn’t 24 weeks.¹¹ In practice most San Francisco workers covered by the PPLO are also covered by CFRA, meaning your job is protected during the eight weeks of top-off and for several weeks beyond.

Retaliation and Termination During Leave

The ordinance has real teeth. If your employer fires you while you’re on leave and collecting state benefits, they don’t get to stop the supplemental pay. The obligation continues for the rest of your Paid Family Leave period.⁶

Pre-leave firings carry a legal presumption. If you notify your employer that you plan to take Paid Family Leave and they terminate you within 90 days of that notice, the law presumes the firing was meant to dodge the supplemental pay obligation. Your employer then has to prove with clear and convincing evidence that the termination had nothing to do with your leave. That’s a high bar. If they can’t meet it, they owe you the full supplemental compensation as if you were still employed.⁶

How Your Leave Pay Is Taxed

The two streams of leave income are taxed differently at the federal level. California Paid Family Leave benefits for bonding are included in federal gross income but are not considered wages for Social Security, Medicare, or federal income tax withholding. The state reports those payments on a Form 1099 rather than a W-2.

The supplemental compensation from your employer works differently. Because it comes through payroll, it’s treated as regular wages subject to standard federal income tax withholding and FICA. Your pay stub during leave will reflect those withholdings on the supplemental portion just as it would for your normal salary. Keep both your W-2 and any 1099 forms from the EDD when you file your federal return; the two income streams are reported separately.

Reporting a Violation

If your employer isn’t paying what the ordinance requires, the San Francisco Office of Labor Standards Enforcement handles complaints. You can reach OLSE at 415-554-4190 or by email at pplo@sfgov.org.¹

1
SF.gov. Paid Parental Leave Ordinance
2
Employment Development Department. Paid Family Leave Benefit Payment Amounts
3
San Francisco Office of Labor Standards Enforcement. San Francisco Paid Parental Leave Ordinance Rules
4
American Legal Publishing Code Library. San Francisco Labor and Employment Code – Section 14.3 Definitions
5
SF.gov. Paid Parental Leave Ordinance Amendment – April 2020
6
American Legal Publishing Code Library. San Francisco Labor and Employment Code – Section 14.4 Supplemental Paid Parental Leave
7
Employment Development Department. Paid Family Leave
8
Employment Development Department. Paid Family Leave – Step 4 Review Benefit Documents
9
San Francisco Office of Labor Standards Enforcement. San Francisco Paid Parental Leave Form
10
California Civil Rights Department. PDL Baby Bonding
11
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 28Q – Taking Leave from Work for Birth, Placement, and Bonding with a Child