Undocumented Workers' Guide to Applying for California Disability

Undocumented Workers’ Guide to Applying for

California Disability Insurance & Paid Family Leave

This guide provides step-by-step instructions for undocumented workers to apply for California Disability

Insurance (DI) and Paid Family Leave (PFL) benefits. Eligible workers can apply to the Employment Development

Department (EDD) for DI and PFL beneﬁts, which provide partial pay when a worker takes time off work for their

own disability or to care for a family member. These beneﬁts are available regardless of immigration status.

Because the DI and PFL applications ask for a Social Security number (SSN), this guide provides recommended

steps that undocumented workers can follow to apply for beneﬁts without swearing that they have a SSN.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

About Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave ............................. 2

a. For what reasons can I receive DI and PFL beneﬁts?

b. Do I have to provide a Social Security number to apply?

c. How do I know if I paid into the DI Fund?

d. Does my employer pay for DI and PFL?

e. Do I have to pay taxes if I receive DI or PFL beneﬁts?

II.STEP ONE: Request a Paper Application ............................................ 3

a. When do I apply?

b. How do I apply?

c. Why should undocumented workers use a paper application?

d. What forms will I need?

e. How do I get a paper application?

III. STEP TWO: Complete & Submit the Application

and Attach Proof of Wages ............................................. 4

a. What information will I need to provide?

b. Where am I asked to enter my SSN?

c. What do I do when I am asked to enter my SSN?

d. What do I do when I am asked about other SSNs I may have used?

e. What do I do when I am asked if I have worked under another name?

f. Does anyone else need to ﬁll out and sign the claim form?

g. How do I submit the application?

IV.

STEP THREE: Provide the EDD with Additional Information ............... 5

a. Will the EDD contact me after I submit my application?

b. What happens if I miss the call from the EDD?

c. Will I receive any other notices from the EDD?

d. What do I do if I receive a Notice of Computation?

V.STEP FOUR: Receive Your Benefits ..................................................... 7

a. How long do I have to wait to receive my beneﬁts?

b. How will I receive the payment?

VI.

Make Sure Your Job is Protected .................................................... 7

VII. Template Letters for Undocumented Workers

Applying for DI and PFL .................................................................... 8

About Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave

The California State Disability Insurance (SDI) program provides short-term Disability Insurance (DI)

and Paid Family Leave (PFL) wage replacement beneﬁts to eligible workers who need time off work.

If you have paid into the California DI Fund, you may be eligible to receive short-term DI and PFL

beneﬁts. DI and PFL beneﬁts are available regardless of immigration status.

For what reasons can I receive DI and PFL benets?

How long can I

get this benet?

For what reasons?

52 weeks

Your own:

- Non-workplace illness

or injury

- Pregnancy

- Childbirth

8 weeks within a 12-month period

- To care for a seriously ill family member

- To bond with a newborn, adopted,

or foster child

- To address qualifying needs arising from

a family member’s military deployment to

a foreign country

PFL

You can apply for DI and PFL beneﬁts through the Employment Development Department (EDD).

Do I have to provide a Social Security number to apply?

The DI and PFL applications currently ask for a worker’s SSN so that the EDD can identify your wages

and determine your weekly beneﬁt amount. They also require you to sign and swear that everything

included in the application is true. This guide provides steps that undocumented workers can

follow to apply for beneﬁts without swearing that they have a SSN.

• How do I know if I paid into the DI Fund? Check your paystub for “CASDI” deductions to see if you

have been paying into the DI Fund. If you don’t know if you paid in, or if you were paid in cash, you still

may be able to receive beneﬁts. SEE STEP 2.

• Does my employer pay for DI and PFL? No. DI and PFL are 100 percent funded by workers.

Employers do not pay for these beneﬁts.

Do I have to pay taxes if I receive DI or PFL benets?

PFL

Subject to federal

but not state taxes.

• Not taxed unless you switch directly to DI from

receiving Unemployment Insurance.

- If you do, your DI beneﬁts will be federally taxable

and the EDD will issue a 1099G tax form.

DI and PFL are not considered “public charge”

beneﬁts and will not affect the path to citizenship.

Request a Paper Application

• When do I apply?

Apply for beneﬁts within 49 days (DI) or 41 days (PFL) of the ﬁrst day you

are off work for your qualifying reason. You cannot apply early. You can

apply late if you have good cause for the delay.

STEP ONE

• How do I apply?

You must submit an application to receive DI or PFL beneﬁts. There are two options:

1. Apply online at SDI Online at edd.ca.gov/disability/sdi_online.htm OR

2. Submit a paper application.

• Why should undocumented workers use a paper application?

- The application requires you to sign and swear that everything in the application is true.

- On the online application, you must answer the question asking for “your Social Security

number” to complete and submit the application. You cannot leave this question blank.

- Undocumented workers should use the paper application because they can leave blank the

question asking for “your Social Security number.” SEE STEP 2.

• What forms will I need?

PFL

Claim for Disability

Insurance (DI) Beneﬁts

(DE 2501)

Solicitud para Beneﬁcios

del Seguro Incapacidad (DI)

(DE2501/S)

Claim for Paid Family

Leave (PFL) Beneﬁts

(DE 2501F)

Solicitud de Beneﬁcios del

Permiso Familiar Pagado (PFL)

(DE2501F/S)(PDF)

Order

Online

Download

and Print

Call the EDD

Healthcare

Provider

Not available

1-800-480-3287

English: NOT available to download

Spanish: available to download at

edd.ca.gov/pdf_pub_ctr/de2501fs.pdf

1-877-238-4373

For ordering instructions visit, SDI Forms and Publications

edd.ca.gov/Disability/Forms_and_Publications.htm

Ask your healthcare provider for a copy of the applications.

PFL

English

Spanish

• How do I get a paper application?

• What information will I need to provide?

- Your biographical information (e.g., name, address, date of birth, etc.)

- Information about your employer (e.g., name of employer, address,

dates of work, etc.)

- When you stopped working.

• Where am I asked to enter my Social Security Number (SSN)?

- Question A1 on the DI and PFL applications ask you to enter “your Social Security number.”

Claim for DI Beneﬁts (DE 2501), Question A1

Claim for PFL Beneﬁts (DE 2501F), Question A1

• What do I do when I am asked to enter my SSN?

- You do NOT have to complete this part of the application. Because you must sign the

application under penalty of perjury, undocumented workers should leave question A1 blank.

- Attach to your application a separate letter stating what SSN you have earned wages under.

Also include your preferred language for communicating with the EDD on your application

and in your letter. A template letter to inform the EDD of the SSN you used to earn wages is

available at the end of this guide.

- Attach proof of your wages like a copy of your current and prior year’s W-2 and/or pay

stubs from the last 18 months. You can determine your exact base period by entering

your requested claim start date in the Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave Calculator

edd.ca.gov/Disability/PFL_Calculator.htm.

- If you were paid in cash, state this in your letter, and explain how much and how often you

were paid. You will need to submit detailed proof of your cash payments (e.g., cash deposit

statements, Venmo, PayPal, receipts, etc.). Please note, if the EDD cannot verify your wages,

you may be denied beneﬁts.

• How do I submit my proof of wages to the EDD?

Remember to send copies of your documents and not the original. The EDD will not send back

any documents you mail to them. Keep a copy of everything you send to the EDD; you can do

this by taking a picture of the documents you send.

STEP TWO

Complete and Submit the Application

and Attach Proof of Wages

Continued on next page.

STEP TWO continued

• What do I do when I am asked about other SSNs I may have used?

- On the DI application, question A5 asks what other SSNs you have used. You can list

the SSN you have earned wages under in response to question A5 (since you are

not signing under penalty of perjury that this is your SSN, just that this is a SSN you

have used), but you should still attach a letter and proof of wages. You can also leave

question A5 blank. The PFL application does not ask this question.

• What do I do when I am asked if I have worked under another name?

- Question A9 on the DI application and A7 on the PFL application ask if you have worked

under another name.

- You can provide other names in response to this question.

• Does anyone else need to ﬁll out and sign the claim form?

- For PFL caregiving claims, the person you are providing care for will also need to ﬁll out

and sign their portion of the claim form.

- For DI claims and PFL caregiving claims, a doctor will also need to ﬁll out their portion of

the form.

• How do I submit the application?

- Complete the rest of the application and sign and mail it back to the EDD using the

envelope provided with your paper application.

- If you can, make a copy of the application before you send in the original or take a

picture of the application with your phone.

STEP THREE

Provide the EDD with Additional Information

REMEMBER to send copies of your documents and not the original. The EDD will not send

back any documents you mail to them. Keep a copy of everything you send to the EDD;

you can do this by taking a picture of the documents you send.

• Will the EDD contact me after I submit my application?

- The EDD may contact you to ask for more information. You should expect

a phone call. Phone calls from the EDD may show on your caller ID as

“St of CA EDD” or as a private number.

- You should answer or return the call as soon as possible, but no later than 2 days.

• What should I say if the EDD calls?

IF YOU HAVE PAYSTUBS AND/OR W-2S:

- Tell the EDD representative your preferred language for the call.

- Be prepared to state your full name, birth date, and the social security number(s) you have

worked under. If you have an EDD Client Number (ECN) tell them that number. Tell them

that you submitted with your application proof of wages during your base period, or if you

haven’t submitted proof of wages, be prepared to do so.

IF YOU WERE PAID IN CASH:

- Tell the EDD representative your preferred language for the call.

Continued on next page.

STEP THREE continued

- Be prepared to state your full name, birth date, and the social security number(s) you have

worked under. If you have an EDD Client Number (ECN) tell them that number. Give your

employer’s name and workplace address. Tell them that your employer paid you in cash and

give any contact information you have for your employer. Tell them how often your employer

paid you (e.g. every week, two weeks). Tell them that you submitted with your application

proof of wages during your base period, or if you haven’t submitted proof of wages, be

prepared to do so. This can include cash deposit statements, Venmo, PayPal, receipts, etc.

• What happens if I miss the call from the EDD?

- If the EDD is unable to reach you by phone, they will send you a Notice of Claim Error (DE

2535) in the mail. You may send this notice back to the EDD with a letter including the SSN

you used to earn wages or conﬁrming you do not have a SSN. You may also provide this

information by phone at 1-800-480-3287 for DI and 1-877-238-4373 for PFL. Request other

languages over the phone or Contact SDI edd.ca.gov/Disability/Contact_SDI.htm#byphone

for dedicated phone lines.

• Will I receive any other notices from the EDD?

- You may receive a Notice of Computation (DE 429D or DE 429DF) saying that the SSN you

have been working under has already been used by another person. See sample DE 429D

below. If this happens, the EDD will assign you an EDD Client Number (ECN) for you to use

going forward.

• What do I do if I receive a Notice of Computation?

- Although this notice says you may obtain proof that the SSN is yours from the Social Security

Administration, you DO NOT need to do this. If your wages on the notice are correct, you do

not have to do anything.

- If your wages on the notice are incorrect, you should respond to the notice with a letter

listing your employer(s) during the last 18 months and a copy of your W-2 and/or paystubs

showing your wages earned during the time period listed on the notice. This letter should

also include your ECN if they have assigned you one.

Receive Your Benets

• How long do I have to wait to receive my benefits?

- You should expect to wait approximately 2 weeks before receiving

payment. If your wages need to be veriﬁed, it may take additional

STEP FOUR

time to receive payment.

- Ordinarily there is a 7-day unpaid waiting period before DI beneﬁts begin. However,

beginning January 24, 2020, through the duration of the COVID-19 emergency, the

Governor’s Executive Order waives the waiting period for workers who have a medically

certiﬁed COVID-19 related diagnosis.

- There is no waiting period for PFL claims, so your beneﬁts will begin the ﬁrst day you are

off work for a qualifying reason.

- Even if your beneﬁts arrive late, you will still be paid for all qualifying days.

• How will I receive the payment?

- The EDD will pay you either on a debit card or by check. When you apply, the EDD will

ask which method you prefer. However, if you are ﬁling without a SSN and have been

assigned an EDD Client Number, you will be limited to payment by check only.

Make Sure Your Job is Protected

• Remember, DI and PFL provide pay but do not give you the right to take leave and return to your

job after.

• While you are receiving DI or PFL, your job may be protected under separate laws.

o For example, the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) provides up to 12 weeks of job-protected

leave, with the right to return to work, if you have worked for your employer for at least one

year; you worked at least 1,250 hours in the year before your leave; and your employer has at

least 5 employees.

o If you do not qualify for CFRA but need leave because of your own health, the Fair Employment

and Housing Act may give you the right to leave. For more information, contact the Department

of Fair Employment and Housing at dfeh.ca.gov.

• You should ask your employer for leave and tell them how much leave you need as soon as you

learn of your need for leave.

• Just like DI and PFL, job-protected leave is available regardless of immigration status.

• Even if you lose your job or do not qualify for job protection, you can still receive DI and PFL

beneﬁts.

Template letters for undocumented workers applying for DI and PFL.

If you are undocumented and have

paystubs and/or W-2s, use this

template letter, personalize it, and

attach it to your DI or PFL claim form:

[Date]

Disability Insurance Branch

Employment Development Department

To Whom it May Concern:

My name is [full name]. My date of

birth is [date]. The social security

number or social security numbers

I have worked under is [ssn]. (If

applicable: My EDD Client Number is

[number].)

I have attached the following proof

of my wages during my base period:

[paystubs, W-2s].

Please let me know if you need any

additional information. You can reach

me at [phone number]. I would like

the EDD to communicate with me in

[my preferred language].

Thank you.

[signature]

[full name]

If you are undocumented and were paid in

cash, use this template letter, personalize it,

and attach it to your DI or PFL claim form:

[Date]

Disability Insurance Branch

Employment Development Department

To Whom it May Concern:

My name is [full name]. My date of birth is [date].

The social security number or social security numbers

I have worked under is [ssn]. (If applicable: My EDD

Client Number is [number].)

My employer paid me in cash.

I worked as a [job] for [employer name] from

[date] to [date/present]. My employer’s address

is [address]. My employer’s phone number is

[number]. My employer’s email address is [email].

[Add the above information for all other jobs/

employers during the past 18 months.]

My employer paid me [amount] every [frequency

(e.g. week, two weeks)]. I have attached the

following proof of my wages during my base period:

[cash deposit statements, Venmo, PayPal, receipts,

etc.].

Please let me know if you need any additional

information. You can reach me at [phone number].

I would like the EDD to communicate with me in [my

preferred language].

Thank you.

[signature]

[full name]

Created with funding from the California Labor and Workforce

Development Agency. For questions, contact Legal Aid at Work’s Work

and Family Helpline at (800) 880-8047. Legal Aid at Work cannot ensure

this information is current or be responsible for any use to which it is put.