State Disability Insurance (SDI) and SDI Integration FAQ’s

Most County employees participate in SDI and their contributions to the program are displayed on their paycheck as SDI tax.

Those excluded from participation include the Sacramento County Alliance of Law Enforcement (Peace Officers Unit) and elected officials.

For public entities in the state of California, SDI participation for employees is not considered mandatory.

Elected officials are excluded from participation as they are not considered employees of the government entity.

For represented County employees, the ability to participate in the SDI program occurred by application and an affirmative vote from the bargaining unit.

For unrepresented employees, the County determined participation by application to EDD.

Applying for benefits with EDD can be done online and by form. Online filing is recommended and faster for EDD to process which typically means faster payment processing.  Begin the step by step application process.

Please see EDDs DI Claim process website for more information about their recommended time frame for filing a disability insurance claim.

You can integrate your leave balances with your SDI benefits provided you meet the eligibility requirements outlined in the County policy.

To be eligible for integration, you must meet all the following criteria:

• Be eligible for SDI benefits from EDD
• Provide medical verification of inability to work
• Have accrued leave balances that can be used for integration

You can start integrating your leave balances with SDI after you complete the seven-day waiting period that is mandated by the EDD. Integration with your SDI benefits is voluntary; however, for those that want to integrate their leave balances it is recommended you submit your request for integration as soon as you have documentation of your disability date as SDI integration cannot be started retroactively.

Employees can decide to integrate at any point during their disability period provided they submit the completed SDI Integration Request Form and a copy of their medical note to their HR contact (if Sheriff’s Office or District Attorney) or to DPS-Medical-Leaves@saccounty.gov (for all other departments).

If the documents are completed and returned by the deadline date provided by the HR contact, integration can begin as early as the beginning of that pay period.

When filing for SDI integration, it is important to use the same claim effective date as provided to EDD during the filing process. Instructions on the SDI integration process and the request form SDI Integration of Leave Balance Form located on the internal Personnel Services HR Forms webpage..

For information about how long you can collect Disability Insurance (DI) benefits through EDD, go to the EDD’s website. 

Typically, the longest period that an employee can collect benefits is 52 weeks provided they remain continuously unable to work.

When you return to work, exhaust your SDI benefits with EDD, or exhaust accrued leave balances with the County, you will no longer be eligible for integration.

If your integration ends and you are not yet able to return to work, please contact your HR contact (if Sheriff’s Office or District Attorney) or DPS-Medical-Leaves@saccounty.gov (for all other departments).

The SDI benefit amount depends on an employee’s annual income; estimates can be 70 – 90% of the wages earned 5 to 18 months before the claim effective date, up to the maximum weekly benefit amount set by EDD.

You can find more information on how to determine your weekly benefit amount from EDD.

The calculation for the amount the County will pay is based on a guaranteed net income. Guaranteed net consists of several factors including normal base wages, receipt of cash-back insurance subsidy and differentials and/or premiums that are considered of a more permanent nature based on the job class, less normal tax withholdings for Federal and State, Social Security, Medicare, and SDI, and SCERS retirement contributions.

From the computation above, the estimated benefit amount to be paid by EDD is subtracted and this is the remaining net income that the County will strive to pay you provided you have enough leave balances available.

In cases where the guaranteed net computation less the EDD benefit amount is $0 or less, you are considered a zero-hour integration, and the County will not use any hours during your integration period. This means you will not be receiving payment from the County during your integration period.

The amount of leave required to integrate depends on the amount of your weekly benefit from EDD and your guaranteed net income from the County. Your leave balance usage will be adjusted to make up the difference between your weekly benefit amount and your guaranteed net pay.

If your weekly benefit amount from EDD exceeds your guaranteed net pay, the County will not utilize any leave balances for those pay periods.

No, the amount of leave balances used is determined by the difference in your EDD weekly benefit amount and your County guaranteed net income in compliance with the County’s SDI Policy #305.

If you remain in paid status by using accrued leave balances for integration, and your number of hours needed to integrate results in enough money to cover your benefits deductions, your benefit premiums will continue to be deducted from your pay.

If you are a zero-hour integration or are not integrating with enough hours to cover your premiums, you will need to contact the Employee Benefits Office to continue your benefits by self-paying your premiums.

The benefits office can be reached at (916) 874-2020 or MyBenefits@saccounty.gov.

Integration cannot be approved or started retroactively. You will need to use your leave balances before your integration starts or be on an approved Leave of Absence (LOA) prior to your integration. If your request to integrate is turned in late or misplaced, retroactive changes are not allowed per the County policy.

In some instances, the claim information provided at the beginning of integration does not match the verification later received from the employee. In these cases, the SDI Integration team is required to make corrections to the calculations for past pay periods to be compliant with EDD regulations and/or the County policy.

These changes apply only to integrations that are already in effect and do not apply to retroactive starting of SDI Integration.

Important: You will not qualify for integration if a claim has been submitted to EDD. If proof of acceptance of your claim from EDD is not submitted within three pay periods of the SDI Integration start date, your integration will be removed, and your leave balances will be used instead. If you exhaust your leave balances, you will be placed on unpaid leave of absence for the remainder of your absence.

If you have hours worked in any pay periods while on SDI integration, you will receive partial leave accruals based on the number of hours worked.

It is most common to receive partial leave accruals in the starting and ending pay periods of SDI integration.

The partial accrual balances will not be displayed on your pay advice until a full accrual is earned, or partial accruals are transferred when SDI integration stops.

No, your EDD benefit is not impacted by whether you integrate with the County. You should notify your department HR contact (if Sheriff’s Office or District Attorney) or DPS-Medical-Leaves@saccounty.gov (for all other departments) when you file a claim for disability benefits with EDD.

The EDD requests information relevant to your claim effective date, last day worked, and payment information to process your claim.

There are multiple reasons why your claim can be denied by EDD. The most common are:

• You did not lose wages because of your disability.
• You have earned less than $300 during your base period. See Calculating Benefit Payment Amounts. 
• Your physician or treating provider did not provide a certification of your disability with a claim effective date.

For information specific to your denial, you should refer to the notice of determination sent to you by EDD. For further questions, contact EDD.

Please see EDD’s DI Claim Process website for more information about claim processing and payments.

Yes, EDD verifies your income during your disability period, including any income from a secondary employer. In some cases, EDD will contact you in your SDI Online account requesting that you report any income received during your disability period.

This typically occurs if you are released to work modified work hours (less than your normal work schedule). It is important that you respond to any requests sent to you via the EDD portal.

The best way to reach EDD regarding your claim is to respond to their notices via their online system and to mail back any communications sent to you in a timely manner.

This is the quickest way to resolve any issues with payment. Their website has all the information needed regarding the SDI process and an ask EDD section that provides answers to many common questions.

Calling EDD can be difficult as the person working on your claim could be in any office across the state. If they contact you, they will leave their name and direct contact information.

You can find the most updated contact information on EDD’s Contact State Disability Insurance website.

Our County SDI team uses the same method to contact EDD that is available to employees, most of our communications are responding to claim verification through the SDI online portal and, in some cases, the person working on your claim will contact us directly.

EDD may also have limitations on what can be discussed about the claim with the County.

It is always best for the claimant to contact EDD directly to resolve any concerns. If you are having trouble getting an answer from EDD or have a question you cannot find online, contact our SDI Integration team at DPS-SDI-Integration@saccounty.gov.

Please note that if you selected not to share information with your employer when filing your claim, EDD will not answer our questions.

No, you must file your claim directly with EDD and your physician must provide them with the required medical documentation.

Before the end of the third pay period after integration begins, you must provide a DE2500E form, which functions as your pay advice from EDD to certify your claim has been approved, verify your claim effective date, and verify your weekly benefit amount.

A reminder notice about providing verification of your EDD payment will be sent to you from your SDI integration coordinator. If your payment is delayed, please contact the SDI team at DPS-SDI-Integration@saccounty.gov to discuss your specific circumstance.

If there is any update to your return-to-work date, notify your HR contact/Medical Leaves team as soon as possible and provide updated medical documentation to ensure your payroll is processed accurately and timely.

If you need to extend your benefits, your physician/practitioner will need to complete a Physician/Practitioner Supplementary Certificate (DE 2525XX) for you to continue to receive benefits from EDD.

Additional information about continuing or stopping your EDD disability benefits can be found on EDD's Continue or Stop Your Benefits web site.

A new medical note will also need to be submitted to your Medical Leaves coordinator at DPS-Medical-Leaves@saccounty.gov.

Employees of the Sheriff’s Office and District Attorney will work with their Medical Leave/HR Coordinators who will notify the SDI Integration team about their extension.

Notify your HR contact/Medical Leaves team and provide an updated medical note indicating the revised return to work date. This information will be shared to the County SDI team who will stop your integration.

You are responsible for notifying EDD that you have returned to work.