Gov. Newsom Unveils Paid Family Leave Expansion and New Pathway to Turn Veterans Military Experience Into College Credit

Gov. Newsom Announces Landmark Boost to Paid Family Leave Benefits for 2025

SACRAMENTO – Gov. Gavin Newsom Jan. 2 announced that California has increased paid family leave and disability benefits to historic levels in the state, with eligible workers earning less than $63,000 per year now able to receive up to 90% of their regular wages while on leave. Workers earning above that threshold will receive 70% of their wages. Both represent an important increase, and this major benefit enhancement begins with new claims filed on or after January 1, 2025.
The benefit increase, enacted under Senate Bill 951 (Durazo), will make it more affordable for workers to take time off for pregnancy, childbirth, recovery from illness or injury, or to care for seriously ill family members. It will also help families bond with new children or support loved ones during military deployment abroad.
Key details of the 2025 benefit increase
Workers earning less than $63,000 annually will receive up to 90% of their regular pay.
Higher-income workers will receive up to 70% of their regular pay.
The increase applies to new claims filed on or after Jan. 1, 2025. Claims filed in 2024 will continue at the 2024 rates of 60-70% of weekly wages.
Disability and paid family leave programs in California provide critical support to more than 18 million workers and their families, funded through payroll contributions. Eligible workers can receive up to 52 weeks of disability benefits and up to 8 weeks of paid family leave benefits.

Gov. Newsom Unveils Effort for Veterans to Turn Their Military Service Into a Degree
SACRAMENTO – On Dec. 20 in Redding, Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled the final framework for the master plan for career education to strengthen career pathways, prioritize hands-on learning and real-life skills, and advance educational access and affordability. As part of a $100 million budget investment to implement key components of the master plan, Gov. Newsom proposed the scaling of the state’s credit for prior learning or CPL effort to fund a new initiative to make it easier for Californians — especially veterans and military members — to turn their real-world experience into college credit.

College credit for veterans and workers
As part of the CPL initiative, veterans can earn credit for skills learned during military training, or students who volunteered through a service corps could apply their experience toward their education once this effort is implemented.

The economic impact of this investment would be immediate and substantial — veterans would receive an estimated average of $26,115 in immediate savings and $161,115 in lifetime benefits, translating to $3.7 billion in preserved educational funds and $28.8 billion in long-term economic benefits over 20 years, while also closing equity gaps.

While some colleges already award credit for prior experience, this new effort aims to create a statewide system so more people can benefit. The goal is to help Californians translate their skills and knowledge into real progress toward a degree or career. The budget investment is expected to benefit 250,000 Californians, including 30,000 veterans.

The framework will be followed by the final master plan for career education, which will be published in the new year. The master plan will be supported by funding in the upcoming state budget.