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California Resources

California

This page has information specific to this state, including contact information for federal and state agencies, and some key information about laws and consumer protections. Sometimes, state laws are more protective than federal law. For more information on this state's specific laws (e.g., on employment or health insurance), visit Triage Cancer's Charts of State Laws.

Browse Resources

Advocacy

Disability Insurance

State Disability Insurance

Federal Disability Programs

Private Disability Insurance

  • You can also purchase short-term and/or long-term disability insurance directly from a private insurance company or this type of insurance may be offered by your employer as an employee benefit. See our Quick Guide to Long-Term Disability Insurance for more information.

Employment

Federal Fair Employment

  • The U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, transgender status, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, or genetic information. The laws apply to all types of work situations, including hiring, firing, promotions, harassment, training, wages, and benefits. For more information about the EEOC, including how to file a complaint, visit the EEOC's website, call 800.669.4000, or email info@eeoc.gov.
  • The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) is a program funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, that provides free, expert, and confidential guidance on job accommodations and disability employment issues. They also have several resources on how to approach an employer to request a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act and a Searchable Online Accommodation Resource where individuals can find suggested accommodations based on job duties or limitations that they are experiencing. For more information, visit the JAN website, call 800.526.7234, or email jan@AskJAN.org.

State Fair Employment

State Unemployment

Vocational Rehabilitation

  • Your state's Vocational Rehabilitation agency provides vocational rehabilitation services that are designed to help job seekers with disabilities obtain competitive employment in integrated work settings. For more information on their services, eligibility requirements, and how to apply, visit the California Department of Rehabilitation's website, or call 916.324.1313 or 800.952.5544.

More Information

Employment – Taking Time Off

Federal Leave Laws

State Family & Medical Leave (for self & for caregivers)

  • California has a state family and medical leave law called the California Family Rights Act, enforced by the California Civil Rights Department. (800.884.1684).
    • Who’s eligible?  Employees who have worked for a covered employer for 1+ years, worked for 1,250 hours in the past 12 months, and who work for an employer with five or more full or part-time employees.
    • Who can be cared for? An individual can take time off for their own serious medical condition or to care for a child, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, registered domestic partner, or designated person.
    • How much time is given? Up to 12 work weeks of leave in a 12 month period
    • An individual must complete a Certification of Health Care Provider Form for their own serious health condition or family member.

State Paid Family Leave (for caregivers)

  • For information on paid family leave, visit the California Employment Development Department website, call 877.238.4373 (English) or 877.379.3819 (Spanish), or schedule a phone appointment.

    • Who’s eligible? California allows all private employees who have been paid at least $300 during the base pay period to receive paid family medical leave. Self-employed individuals can choose to opt into the program.
    • Who can be cared for? Family members with a serious health condition, or an employee’s own disability (unable to perform regular or customary work). Family member includes: child, parent, spouse, domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, or parent-in-law.
    • How much time is given? Eight weeks for family leave within any 12-month period.
    • How much is paid? 60-70% of wages earned in the last 5-18 months before the claim start date.
    • How do I apply? By mail or online. You will need to provide:
      • First and last name
      • Social Security Number
      • CA driver's license number
      • Most current employer’s business name, phone number, and mailing address
      • Last date you worked your regular duties and hours or date you began working
      • Any wage you received or expect to receive from your employer

State Paid Sick Leave (for self)

  • California passed the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act, effective January 1, 2015. The law applies to all California employers, except for employees covered by certain collective bargaining agreements, employees of air carriers with equivalent compensation and time off as provided for in the law, and certain public employees. Under California law, employees must earn at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. Any unused, accrued hours roll over to the next year; however, an employee cannot use more than 24 hours of paid sick leave in a year.
  • More information on California's paid sick leave law
  • Some states have kinship laws that allow you to use your sick leave to care for a child. California Labor Law requires employers to allow paid sick leave to be used for the health care needs of certain family members.
  • Many counties and cities in California also have paid sick leave laws.

State Paid General Leave (for any reason)

Some states provide general paid leave. California does not currently have a general leave law.

State Bone Marrow Donation Leave

Some states provide leave to donate bone marrow.

  • California law requires private employers with 15 employees or more employees to provide paid leave for up to 5 days in one year for donating bone marrow.
  • California law provides state employees with up to 5 days of paid leave if they have no sick time remaining.

County & Local Leave

Some cities and counties have additional leave laws.

  • City of Berkeley Paid Sick Leave Ordinance: Employers must provide sick leave for employees who work at least 2 hours in a calendar week within the city and are entitled to minimum wage under California law. Employees earn 1 hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked. Employers with 25+ employees may cap hours accrued at 72 hours per year. Employers with fewer than 25 employees may cap hours accrued at 48 hours per year. For more information, see City of Berkeley, Workforce Standards and Enforcement.
  • Emeryville Paid Sick Leave: Employers must provide sick leave for employees who work at least 2 hours in a calendar week within the city and are entitled to minimum wage under California law. Employers with fewer than 25 employees can cap the amount of accrued sick leave to 48 hours per year. Employers with 25 or more employees can cap the amount of accrued sick leave to 72 hours per year. Employees accrue 1 hour for every 30 hours worked. For more information, see California Emeryville Minimum Wage Ordinance.
  • City of Los Angeles Minimum Wage Ordinance: Employers must provide sick leave for employees who work at least 2 hours in a calendar week within the city and have worked for the same employer for 30 days or more within the year. Employers can provide 48 hours of sick leave at once at the beginning of each year of employment calendar year, or other 12 month period. Or, employers can have employees earn sick leave 1 hour for every 30 hours worked. Employers can cap amount of sick leave to 72 hours a year. For more information, see Los Angeles, Raise the Wage LA.
  • Oakland: Employers must provide sick leave for employees who work at least 2 hours in a calendar week within the city. Employers with fewer than 10 employees can cap the amount of accrued sick leave to 40 hours per year. Employers with 10 or more employees can cap the amount of accrued sick leave to 72 hours per year. Employees accrue 1 hour for every 30 hours worked. For more information, see City of Oakland, Labor Standards and Related Documents.
  • City of San Diego Earned Sick Leave and Minimum Wage Ordinance: Employers must provide sick leave for employees who work at least 2 hours in a calendar week within the city and are entitled to minimum wage under California law. Employees earn 1 hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked. Employers can cap the amount of accrued sick leave to 80 hours. For more information, see City of San Diego, Compliance Department.
  • San Francisco Paid Sick Leave Ordinance: Employers must provide sick leave for employees who work at least 2 hours in a calendar week within the city. Employees earn 1 hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked. Employers with fewer than 10 employees can cap the amount of accrued sick leave to 40 hours per year. Employers with 10 or more employees can cap the amount of accrued sick leave to 72 hours per year. For more information, see San Francisco’s Understanding the Paid Sick Leave Benefits.
  • Santa Monica Minimum Wage: Employers must provide sick leave for employees who work at least 2 hours in a calendar week within the city and are entitled to minimum wage under California law. Employees earn 1 hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked. Employers with 25 employees or less can cap the amount of accrued sick leave to 40 hours per year. Employers with 26 or more employees can cap the amount of accrued sick leave to 72 hours per year. For more information, see City of Santa Monica, Minimum Wage.

Workplace Leave Policies or Employment Contracts

  • Everyone’s situation is different. Check your employee handbook, your workplace policies, and/or your employment contract (if you have one) to see whether you are eligible to take paid or unpaid time off from work.

More Information

Estate Planning

Triage Cancer's free State-Specific Estate Planning Toolkit includes information about estate planning in general, and information about California estate planning documents, and the specific forms you need.

Finances

For information on financial assistance resources, you can visit the Financial Assistance Resources module at CancerFinances.org. You can then pick from the different categories of financial assistance, to find organizations that may provide financial help to you. Think creatively. For example, if you cannot find anything to help with your medical bills, you may qualify for utility assistance and shift the money you had dedicated to utilities to your medical bills.

Health Care

Health Insurance Information

Health Insurance Options

Marketplace
COBRA
  • COBRA provides a way for workers and their families to temporarily maintain their employer-provided health insurance during situations such as job loss or a reduction in hours worked. If you have questions about COBRA, visit the Employee Benefits Security Administration website.
State COBRA
  • For information about your state's COBRA law related to maintaining employer-provided health insurance during situations such as job loss or a reduction in hours worked, as well as information about how your state's law works with federal COBRA, visit the California Department of Managed Healthcare website, or call 916.324.0455.
Major Risk Insurance
HIPAA Plans
Children's Health Insurance
  • Visit this site to learn about the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) (888.452.8609), which provides low-cost health coverage to children in families that earn too much money to be eligible for Medicaid.
  • Visit InsureKidsNow.gov to learn about free or low-cost health and dental insurance coverage options for kids and teens.
Other Insurance Options

Health Insurance Appeals

  • To apply for an Independent Medical Review (an external appeal of a health plan denial) or to file a Consumer Complaint about your health plan, visit
  • If your health insurance company has denied coverage for your care, you can appeal that decision. The process depends on the type of health insurance that you have. Visit the Health Insurance Appeals module on CancerFinances.org to learn more about appeals.
  • If you have private health insurance (e.g., through an employer or the Marketplace), you can also file an external appeal with an entity outside of your insurance company, to see if the insurance company is required to cover your care. The external review process is either handled by the state’s insurance agency or the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Visit our Chart of State Laws on Health Insurance Coverage & Navigation to see who runs the external appeals process in your state.

Medicare

  • Medicare is the federal health insurance program for people who are 65 or older, certain younger people with disabilities, and people with End-Stage Renal Disease or ALS. For information about Medicare, to create a personal account where you can view your Medicare information, and to learn about plan options, visit Medicare.gov, or call 800.MEDICARE (800.633.4227)
  • Download a copy of Medicare's handbook, “Medicare & You.”
  • For help navigating Medicare, contact the Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP) (800.434.0222).
  • For more information, visit Triage Cancer's Medicare Resources.

Medicaid

Health Insurance Premium Payment Program (HIPP)
  • The HIPP program can help pay your group health insurance premium (e.g., COBRA) if you are eligible for Medicaid. For more information, visit the HIPP program website, or call 916.440.5676.
Early & Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, & Treatment (EPSDT)
  • The EPSDT benefit is a Medicaid benefit available to individuals under the age of 21.
  • States are required to provide comprehensive services needed to correct and ameliorate health conditions, including:
    • Early: Assess and identify problems early, starting at birth
    • Periodic: Check children’s health at periodic, age-appropriate intervals in comprehensive well-child visits, including health education
    • Screening: Provide physical, dental, mental, developmental, hearing, vision, and other screening or laboratory tests to detect potential problems
    • Diagnosis: Perform diagnostic tests and assessments to follow up when a risk is identified during screening and examinations
    • Treatment: Control, correct, or ameliorate any problems that are found
  • States are required to provide any additional health care services that are coverable under the federal Medicaid program and found to be medically necessary to treat, correct or reduce illnesses and conditions discovered regardless of whether the service is covered in a state's Medicaid plan. State Medicaid agencies are required to:
    • Inform all Medicaid-eligible individuals under age 21 that EPSDT services are available and of the need for age-appropriate immunizations;
    • Offer and provide, if requested and necessary, assistance with transportation to medical care.
    • Offer and provide, if requested and necessary, assistance with scheduling appointments for EPSDT visits and services.
  • Learn more about your state's program.
Coverage for Children
  • California Children's Services (CCS): CCS provides diagnostic and treatment services, medical case management, and physical and occupational therapy services to children under age 21 with certain medical conditions.
    • Covered conditions include, but are not limited to, chronic medical conditions such as cystic fibrosis, hemophilia, cerebral palsy, heart disease, cancer, and traumatic injuries.
    • You do not have to qualify for Medi-Cal to receive services through CCS.
    • However, 70% of CCS-eligible children are also Medi-Cal eligible.
    • Children may qualify if they:
      • are under 21 years old
      • have a health problem covered by CCS
      • are a resident of California
      • and have one of the following:
        • family income of $40,000 or less
        • out-of-pocket medical expenses are expected to be more than 20% of the family's adjusted gross income
        • a need for an evaluation to find out if there is a health problem covered by CCS
        • was adopted with a known health problem that is covered by CCS
        • a need for the Medical Therapy Program
        • Medi-Cal, with full benefits
    • How to apply for CCS services.
  • Visit this site to learn about the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) (888.452.8609) that provides low-cost health coverage to children in families that earn too much money to be eligible for Medicaid.
  • Visit InsureKidsNow.gov to learn about free or low-cost health and dental insurance coverage options for kids and teens.
In-Home Support Services (IHSS)
More Medicaid Resources

Free or Low-Cost Health Care

  • For a list of Hill-Burton Federally Funded Health Centers that are obligated to provide free or reduced-cost health care, visit the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) website.
  • Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) are community-based health care providers that provide primary care services in underserved areas. To search for an FQHC in your state, use the Find a Health Center tool on the HRSA website.
  • To find a community clinic in your area: screenings and services in your area, visit the National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics website.
  • The National Breast & Cervical Cancer Treatment Program (NBCCEDP) provides breast and cervical cancer screenings and diagnostic services to women who have low incomes and are uninsured or underinsured. For more information about screenings and services in your area, use the CDC search tool.
  • The Breast & Cervical Cancer Treatment Program (BCCTP) provides cancer treatment benefits to eligible low-income individuals diagnosed with breast and/or cervical cancer. For more information, visit the California Department of Healthcare Services website.
  • IMPACT provides free prostate cancer treatment for men in California who have little or no health insurance. For more information, visit the IMPACT website.

Health Care Programs & Laws

Women's Health & Cancer Rights Act (WHCRA)
Privacy
State Clinical Trials Law
  • Cal. Health & Safety Code Ann. §1370.6, Cal. Ins. Code Ann. §10145.4, Cal. Welfare & Inst. Code Ann. §§ 14087.11, 14132.98
  • Who must cover the costs? Most health plans licensed to do business in California, including health care service plan providers (not including specialized health care service plan contracts), disability insurers (ones that provide hospital, medical or surgical coverage in California), County Organized Health System plans, and Medi-Cal.
  • What must be covered? Routine health care services related to Phase I, II, III, or IV clinical trials
  • Requirements for Coverage: The clinical trial must have a ‘therapeutic intent’ for patients and be recommended by the patient’s physician. In many cases, the patient must get clinical trial care from a doctor or hospital within the state.  However, health plans must pay for care at treatment centers outside the state if there is no provider in California taking part in the stud
  • Qualifying Trials: The trial must either: (1) involve a drug that is exempt under federal regulations from a new drug application, or (2) be approved by: (a) NIH, (b) U.S. F.D.A. in the form of an investigational new drug application, (c) U.S. Dept. of Defense, or (d) U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs.

(Last updated 8/2022) 

More Health Insurance Resources

Housing

  • The Civil Rights Department (CRD) is responsible for enforcing California state fair housing laws. For more information, or if you think you have experienced housing discrimination, visit the CRD website, or call 800.884.1684.
  • The Tenant Power Toolkit will help you fight your eviction and your rent debt, link you with legal resources and tenants’ rights groups, and our housing justice work including collective action campaigns.
  • For more information, visit our Cancer Finances module on Housing Rights & Financial Help.

Legal Assistance

State Cancer Information

Transportation

  • Local transit systems may provide free or discounted rates for low-income individuals and families. Some cities also offer bus passes, vouchers for taxi or ride-sharing services, or shuttle services for patients traveling to cancer treatments.
  • Dial 211 for assistance.