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Addiction Medicine

Process for obtaining SDI

Kaiser Permanente members entering treatment may have to take medical leave from work depending upon their treatment plan. By law, employers are not entitled to specific information about why an employee requests Medical Leave. Trying to sort through this process can be stressful. Once you are engaged in treatment, our service will assist you in walking through this process.

If needed/appropriate, patients may obtain a Work Activity Status Form (WASF) to provide to EDD for State Disability (SDI).

The first step is to go to http://www.edd.ca.gov/ under the category of File & Manage claims, click on Disability Insurance

Under: File a Claim, click on: How to File a Claim

Follow the instructions on this page and make sure that when you have completed the claim and have submitted it, you write down the receipt number.

Ask your intake counselor to draft you a WASF letter.

Once you have attended the Day Treatment orientation group and have started treatment, you will be provided with the WASF letter. If your Human Resources department is requesting the WASF letter prior to your starting treatment, please let us know.

Once completed, you may bring the receipt number to the Member Services of any main Kaiser Permanente building and provide it to the Medical Secretary’s office. They will connect your receipt number to the WASF that is in your medical chart. They will then submit all the documentation to EDD for you.

WASF: Work Activity Status Form is a document that verifies that a patient has been seeking or participating in treatment.

FMLA: Family and Medical Leave Act: is a federal law requiring covered employers to provide employees job-protected and unpaid leave for qualified medical and family reasons.

EDD claims: California State Disability Insurance (SDI) is a partial, short term, wage-replacement insurance plan for California workers. The SDI program is a state-mandated and funded through employee payroll deductions. Workers covered by SDI have two benefits available to them: Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave.