The California Experience: Lessons From 20 Years of California’s Paid Family Leave Program

California’s Paid Family Leave (PFL) program provides millions of California’s with access to paid leave to care for family members, bond with new children, or provide support during a family member’s military deployment. The program, which was initially passed two decades ago, has subsequently been expanded through five other bills aimed at increasing access to and use of the program. As the longest standing PFL program in the nation, the California PFL program provides a unique view into the impacts and effectiveness of PFL legislation. This report hightlights key findings from an analysis of the past two decades of the program.