Bill Text: CA AB1556 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Unemployment insurance.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Passed) 2014-09-17 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 377, Statutes of 2014. [AB1556 Detail]

Download: California-2013-AB1556-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 1556	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 17, 2014
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 4, 2014
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 17, 2014

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Perea
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Ian Calderon, Frazier, Gonzalez, and
Wieckowski)

                        JANUARY 27, 2014

   An act to amend Section 316 of, and to add Sections 320.3,
1253.92, and 1326.5 to, the Unemployment Insurance Code, relating to
unemployment insurance, and making an appropriation therefor.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1556, as amended, Perea. Unemployment insurance.
   Existing unemployment insurance law requires all standard
information employee pamphlets provided by the Employment Development
Department concerning unemployment and disability insurance programs
to be printed in English and separately in Spanish, or both.
   This bill would instead require those pamphlets to be printed in
English and the 7 other most commonly used languages among
participants in each program. This bill would require the department
to make pages on its Internet Web site that provide information
regarding applying for, and receiving, unemployment insurance
benefits available in the 7 languages, other than English, most
commonly used by unemployment insurance applicants and claimants.
   Existing unemployment insurance law requires the Employment
Development Department to pay unemployment compensation benefits to
unemployed individuals meeting specified requirements.
   This bill would require the Director of Employment Development to
periodically review policies and practices used to determine
eligibility for and the amount of benefits in the unemployment
insurance program, as specified, and report to the Legislature the
results of the first review on or before July 1, 2015.
   Existing law prohibits an unemployed individual from being
disqualified for benefits solely on the basis that he or she is a
student.
   This bill would prohibit an unemployed individual who is meeting
specified requirements and is certifying for continued unemployment
compensation from being scheduled for a determination of eligibility
for a week in which the individual commenced or is participating in a
training or education program and has notified the Employment
Development Department of the training or education program. This
bill would permit the department to schedule and conduct a
determination of eligibility if the department determines that the
commencement of, or the ongoing participation in, a training or
education program conflicts with the eligibility requirements for
unemployment compensation. Because this bill would make changes to
existing eligibility requirements for unemployment compensation
benefits that would result in additional amounts being payable from
the Unemployment Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, the bill
would make an appropriation.
   Existing law requires claims  for unemployment compensation
 to be made in accordance with authorized regulations of the
director.
   This bill would require a continued claim  for unemployment
benefits  to be submitted within a specified period. It would
also prohibit  the director from reevaluating a continued
claim for eligibility solely because it was submitted 15 to 21 days,
inclusive, from the end of the last week for which benefits were paid
  an   unemployed individual from being
disqualified for unemployment compensation benefits solely on the
basis that the continued claim was submitted within a specified
period  .
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 316 of the Unemployment Insurance Code is
amended to read:
   316.  (a) There shall be maintained within an appropriate division
of the department, a bureau, section, or unit relating to education
and public instruction for the purpose of informing employers and
workers of their rights and responsibilities under this code, and of
instructing the public generally concerning its basic purposes,
provisions, and operations. All standard information employee
pamphlets concerning unemployment and disability insurance programs
shall be printed in English and the seven other most commonly used
languages among participants in each program in such number as he or
she may determine.
   (b) The department shall make the pages on its Internet Web site
that provide information regarding applying for, and receiving,
unemployment insurance benefits available in the seven languages,
other than English, most commonly used by unemployment insurance
applicants and claimants.
  SEC. 2.  Section 320.3 is added to the Unemployment Insurance Code,
to read:
   320.3.  (a) The director shall periodically review policies and
practices used to determine eligibility for and the amount of
benefits in the unemployment insurance program to identify those
policies and practices that do all of the following:
   (1) Result in delayed eligibility determinations or benefit
payments.
   (2) Increase workload for the department.
   (3) Provide little or no value in identifying or preventing fraud
or abuse in the unemployment insurance program.
   (b) The director shall report to the Legislature the results of
the first review on or before July 1, 2015, and may submit subsequent
reports thereafter. The report shall be submitted in compliance with
Section 9795 of the Government Code.
  SEC. 3.  Section 1253.92 is added to the Unemployment Insurance
Code, to read:
   1253.92.  (a) An unemployed individual who is meeting all of the
requirements under this division, including Section 1253.9, and is
certifying for continued unemployment compensation benefits shall not
be scheduled for a determination of eligibility for a week in which
the individual commenced or is participating in a training or
education program and has notified the department of the training or
education program.
   (b) If the department determines that the commencement of, or the
ongoing participation in, a training or education program conflicts
with the eligibility requirements for unemployment compensation under
this division, the department may schedule and conduct a
determination of eligibility.
  SEC. 4.  Section 1326.5 is added to the Unemployment Insurance
Code, to read:
   1326.5.   A claimant   An individual 
shall  , to maintain his or her eligibility to file continued
claims during a continuous period of unemployment,  submit a
continued claim  within   not more than  14
days  of   from  the end of the last week
 for which benefits were paid. The director shall not
reevaluate a continued claim for eligibility solely due to a claim
being submitted 15 to 21 days, inclusive, from the end of the last
week for which benefits were paid   ending date showing
on the continued claim, or not more than 14 days from the date the
department issued that continued claim, whichever is later, unless
the department finds good cause for the individual's delay in
submitting the continued claim. An unemployed individual may not be
disqualified for unemployment compensation benefits solely on the
basis that the continued claim was subm  itted 15 to 21
days, inclusive, from the end of the last week ending date showing on
the continued claim, or 15 to 21 days   inclusive, from the
date the department issued that continued claim   ,
whichever is later  .