California Revises State Disability and Family Leave Insurance Provisions Related to Covered Active Duty and Medical Provider Charges for Certification

On September 28, 2026, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed two pieces of legislation that will update standards in the state’s disability insurance program that also includes paid family leave insurance benefits.

Among the various reasons an individual can be eligible to receive paid family leave insurance benefits from the State of California is “to participate in a qualifying exigency related to the covered active duty or call to covered active duty of the individual’s spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent in the Armed Forces of the United States.” AB 2054 changes the definition of “covered active duty” in numerous ways. First, it removes the requirement that deployment be to a foreign country. Second, it expressly identifies the National Guard as a reserve component of U.S. armed forces. Third, covered active duty will now include training connected to someone’s role in the armed forces. Finally, the amendment will cover state active duty in addition to federal active duty. As a result, “covered active duty” will now be defined as follows:

with respect to a member of the regular Armed Forces of the United States, duty during the deployment or training of the member with the regular armed forces and, with respect to a member of the reserve components of the Armed Forces of the United States, including the National Guard, duty during training or a call or order to federal or state active duty.

These amendments will become operative on July 1, 2028, or when paid family leave is incorporated in the California Employment Development Department’s integrated claims management system as part of the EDDNext project, whichever date is earlier.

While changes made by AB 2054 are specific to paid family leave (PFL) insurance, AB 2292’s amendments impact PFL and state disability insurance (SDI) benefits, effective January 1, 2027. To be eligible for SDI or PFL benefits due to “sickness, injury, or pregnancy of the employee, or the condition of the family member that warrants the care of the employee,” an individual must establish medical eligibility by supplying a certificate from a treating physician or practitioner. AB 2292 will prohibit physicians and practitioners from charging an administrative fee to complete the required certificate or in connection with a subsequent recertification examination, or for completing a form required to maintain continued eligibility for disability benefits. The amended law will not prevent them from billing for medical services provided in connection with an examination, however, or from collecting any copayment, coinsurance, or deductible, if those charges are consistent with charges for a comparable medical examination or service and are not imposed solely to complete a certificate or form.

Although AB 2292’s amendments will not directly impact employers, they could indirectly affect administration of leaves and disability accommodation requests by removing a financial obstacle employees might face when attempting to obtain medical certification (as the governor put it in a press release, “eliminating junk fees for completing medical documents.”).

As we enter the final quarter of 2026, if they had not started doing so, employers (and their attorneys) will begin reviewing their policies and procedures to ensure compliance with changes taking effect in 2027 (or future years). During that process employers should consider whether or how the above changes made by AB 2054 and 2292 could impact their leaves and disability accommodation processes.