Three states -- California, Washington, and New Jersey -- have laws that provide paid family leave for employees needing to care for sick or disabled family members or a new child. Payments, which are less than the full salary, come from a state insurance fund, not directly from employers.

These laws are the first to address a gap in family leave law. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act and similar state laws give covered employees the right to take leave for caretaking or parenting. However, that leave is unpaid.   (To learn more about unpaid family leave, read Nolo's article  Taking Family and Medical Leave.) And, although some employers provide paid time off for parenting and caregiving, most do not.

To fill this gap, the pioneering state of California passed a paid family leave law -- and now, Washington and New Jersey have followed suit, with laws scheduled to go into effect in 2009.

Here are the details on each state's law.

California Paid Family Leave

Since July 2004, California law has provided for employees to receive partial pay when they take time off to care for a seriously ill child, parent, spouse, or domestic partner, or to bond with a new child.

Benefit amount. Employees receive approximately 55% of their usual compensation, anywhere from $50 to $917 per week, from a state insurance program. The program is funded by employees through paycheck withholding.

Benefit time period. Employees can receive pay for six weeks of leave in a 12-month period. A seven-day waiting period applies, which means the employee must be out of work for a full week before starting to receive benefits. And, the employer may require the employee to use up to two weeks of paid leave (vacation or sick leave, for example) before starting to receive benefits. If your employer has a policy like this, one of the weeks of paid leave will count as your waiting period.

How to apply. You can apply for California's paid family leave by completing a claim form available from your employer or online at the California Employment Development Department, www.edd.ca.gov (choose "Paid Family Leave" from the homepage).

Washington Family Leave Insurance

In 2007, Washington became the second state to pass a paid family leave law. The law goes into effect in October 2009.

Washington's law applies only to parental leave: Eligible employees may receive partial pay when they take time off to care for a newborn or newly adopted child. Employees are eligible if they've worked at least 680 hours during the prior year or the year that ended three months before their leave starts.

Benefits. Employees receive benefits for up to five weeks. For employees who work at least 35 hours a week, the benefit amount is $250 per week. Employees who work fewer hours will receive a prorated amount.

Get more information. You can find out more about the program at the website of the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, www.lni.wa.gov (select "Workplace Rights," then "Caring for Family," then "Laws About Caring for Family" to find information about the family leave insurance program).

New Jersey Family Temporary Disability Leave

In May 2008, New Jersey passed a paid family leave law, to take effect in July 2009. Employees will receive partial pay to take time off to care for a child, parent, spouse, domestic partner, or civil union partner with a serious health condition, or to bond with a new child within 12 months of the child's birth or placement for adoption.

Benefits. Employees can receive benefits for up to six weeks of leave, which can be taken intermittently -- a day or two at a time rather than all at once -- if it's medically necessary (for example, because a family member needs care one day a week). Employees receive two-thirds of their usual wages, up to a maximum of $524 per week, or $74.85 per day of intermittent leave.

Benefit timing. Employees have a seven-day waiting period before they can receive benefits. However, an employee who is out for more than three weeks can receive benefits for the waiting period, too. Employers can require employees to use up to two weeks of paid accrued leave before starting to receive benefits; one of these weeks counts as the seven-day waiting period.

Get more information. Because New Jersey's law is so new, the state hasn't yet posted information about it online. However, you can find information on New Jersey's temporary disability program, which uses the same benefit calculations and will include the paid family leave program, at the website of New Jersey's Department of Labor and Workforce Development, http://lwd.dol.state.nj.us (select "Temporary Disability").

To learn about the rights that employees have to other types of leave, including unpaid family leave, get  Your Rights in the Workplace , by Barbara Kate Repa (Nolo).