Bill Text: CA SB1314 | 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 benefits: determination: appeals.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2014-09-17 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 399, Statutes of 2014. [SB1314 Detail]

Download: California-2013-SB1314-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 1314	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 7, 2014

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Monning

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2014

   An act to amend Sections  1030, 1032.5,  1328 
and   , 1330, 1332,  1334 , 1377, 3654.4, 3655,
  3656, 3701, 4655, 4656, and 4701  of the
Unemployment Insurance Code, relating to unemployment insurance.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1314, as amended, Monning. Unemployment insurance benefits:
determination: appeals.
   (1) Existing law requires the Employment Development Department to
pay unemployment compensation benefits to eligible claimants.
Existing law requires the department to  promptly notify,
among others, the   make a prompt notification 
 of various rulings, determinations, and computations, including
a notification to   an employer of a department ruling or
determination as to the cause of a claimant's termination of
employment, and a notification to   a  claimant of the
determination of the claimant's eligibility for benefits, as
specified.  Existing law authorizes reconsideration of a
determination of eligibility within 20 days after mailing a notice of
a determination.  Existing law  also  authorizes an
appeal from a  determination or reconsidered determination to
an administrative law judge   ruling, determination, or
computation  within 20 days of  the notice of the
determination or reconsidered determination,   a notice,
 as specified  , and authorizes an extension of this
deadline for good cause  .
   This bill would extend the deadline for  a reconsideration or
for an  appeal  to an administrative law judge 
 of the above-described rulings, determinations, and
computations  to 30 days.
   (2) Existing law requires an administrative law judge to affirm,
reverse, modify, or set aside an appeal of a determination of
eligibility for benefits and requires the administrative law judge to
notify certain parties of the decision, as specified. This decision
becomes final unless a further appeal is initiated to the California
Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board within 20 days, as specified.
   This bill would extend the deadline for appeal to the board to 30
days.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


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

   SECTION 1.    Section 1030 of the  
Unemployment Insurance Code   is amended to read: 
   1030.  (a) An employer that is entitled under Section 1327 to
receive notice of the filing of a new or additional claim may, within
10 days after mailing of the notice, submit to the department any
facts within its possession disclosing whether the claimant left the
employer's employ voluntarily and without good cause or left under
one of the following circumstances:
   (1) The claimant was discharged from the employment for misconduct
connected with his or her work.
   (2) The claimant's discharge or quitting from his or her most
recent employer was the result of an irresistible compulsion to use
or consume intoxicants including alcoholic beverages.
   (3) The claimant was a student employed on a temporary basis and
whose employment began within, and ended with his or her leaving to
return to school at the close of, his or her vacation period.
   (4) The claimant left the employer's employ to accompany his or
her spouse or domestic partner to a place or to join him or her at a
place from which it is impractical to commute to the employment, and
to which a transfer of the claimant by the employer is not available.

   (5) The claimant left the employer's employ to protect his or her
family or himself or herself from domestic violence abuse.
   (6) The claimant left the employer's employ to take a
substantially better job.
   The period during which the employer may submit these facts may be
extended by the director for good cause.
   (b) A base period employer that is not entitled under Section 1327
to receive notice of the filing of a new or additional claim and is
entitled under Section 1329 to receive notice of computation may,
within 15 days after mailing of the notice of computation, submit to
the department any facts within its possession disclosing whether the
claimant left the employer's employ voluntarily and without good
cause or left under one of the following circumstances:
   (1) The claimant was discharged from the employment for misconduct
connected with his or her work.
   (2) The claimant was a student employed on a temporary basis and
whose employment began within, and ended with his or her leaving to
return to school at the close of, his or her vacation period.
   (3) The claimant left the employer's employ to accompany his or
her spouse or domestic partner to a place or join him or her at a
place from which it is impractical to commute to the employment, and
to which a transfer of the claimant by the employer is not available.

   (4) The claimant left the employer's employ to protect his or her
family or himself or herself from domestic violence abuse.
   (5) The claimant left the employer's employ to take a
substantially better job.
   The period during which the employer may submit these facts may be
extended by the director for good cause.
   (c) The department shall consider these facts together with any
information in its possession. If the employer is entitled to a
ruling under subdivision (b) or to a determination under Section
1328, the department shall promptly notify the employer of its ruling
as to the cause of the termination of the claimant's employment. The
employer may appeal from a ruling or reconsidered ruling to an
administrative law judge within  20   30 
days after mailing or personal service of notice of the ruling or
reconsidered ruling. The  20-day   30-day 
period may be extended for good cause, which includes, but is not
limited to, mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.
The director is an interested party to an appeal. The department may
for good cause reconsider a ruling or reconsidered ruling within
either five days after the date an appeal to an administrative law
judge is filed or, if an appeal is not filed, within  20
  30  days after mailing or personal service of
notice of the ruling or reconsidered ruling. However, a ruling or
reconsidered ruling that relates to a determination that is
reconsidered pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 1332 may also be
reconsidered by the department within the time provided for
reconsideration of that determination.
   (d) For purposes of this section only, if the claimant voluntarily
leaves the employer's employ without notification to the employer of
the reasons for the leaving, and if the employer submits all of the
facts within its possession concerning the leaving within the
applicable time period referred to in this section, the leaving is
presumed to be without good cause.
   (e) An individual whose employment is terminated under the
compulsory retirement provisions of a collective bargaining agreement
to which the employer is a party shall not be deemed to have
voluntarily left his or her employment without good cause.
   (f) For purposes of this section "spouse" includes a person to
whom marriage is imminent, and "domestic partner" includes a person
to whom a domestic partnership, as described in Section 297 of the
Family Code, is imminent.
   SEC. 2.    Section 1032.5 of the 
Unemployment Insurance Code   is amended to read: 
   1032.5.  (a) Any base period employer may, within 15 days after
mailing of a notice of computation under subdivision (a) of Section
1329, submit to the department facts within its possession disclosing
that the individual claiming benefits is rendering services for that
employer in less than full-time work, and that the individual has
continuously, commencing in or prior to the beginning of the base
period, rendered services for that employer in such less than
full-time work.
   (b) The department shall consider facts submitted under
subdivision (a) of this section together with any information in its
possession and promptly notify the employer of its ruling. If the
department finds that an individual is, under Section 1252,
unemployed in any week on the basis of his or her having less than
full-time work, and that the employer submitting facts under this
section is a base period employer for whom the individual has
continuously, commencing in or prior to the beginning of the base
period, rendered services in such less than full-time work, that
employer's account shall not be charged, except as provided by
Section 1026 or if the department determines pursuant to Section
1026.1 that the employer's reserve account should not be credited,
for benefits paid the individual in any week in which such wages are
payable by that employer to the individual. The employer may appeal
from a ruling or reconsidered ruling to an administrative law judge
within  20   30  days after mailing or
personal service of notice of the ruling or reconsidered ruling. The
 20-day   30   -day  period may be
extended for good cause, which shall include, but not be limited to,
mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect. The director
shall be an interested party to any appeal. The department may for
good cause reconsider any ruling or reconsidered ruling within either
five days after an appeal to an administrative law judge is filed
or, if no appeal is filed, within  20   30 
days after mailing or personal service of the notice of the ruling
or reconsidered ruling.
   SECTION 1.   SEC. 3.   Section 1328 of
the Unemployment Insurance Code is amended to read:
   1328.  The department shall consider the facts submitted by an
employer pursuant to Section 1327 and make a determination as to the
claimant's eligibility for benefits. The department shall promptly
notify the claimant and any employer who before the determination has
submitted facts or given notice pursuant to Section 1327 or this
section and authorized regulations of the determination or
reconsidered determination and the reasons therefor. If, after notice
of a determination or reconsidered determination, the employing unit
acquires knowledge of facts that may affect the eligibility of the
claimant and those facts could not reasonably have been known within
the 10-day period provided by Section 1327, the employing unit shall
within 10 days of acquiring that knowledge submit those facts to the
department, and the 10-day period may be extended for good cause. The
claimant and the employer may appeal from a determination or
reconsidered determination to an administrative law judge within 30
days from mailing or personal service of notice of the determination
or reconsidered determination. The 30-day period may be extended for
good cause, which shall include, but not be limited to, mistake,
inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect. The director shall be
an interested party to any appeal.
   SEC. 4.    Section 1330 of the  
Unemployment Insurance Code   is amended to read: 
   1330.  The claimant and any base period employer to whom a notice
of computation or recomputation is given may, within  20
  30  days after the mailing or personal service of
 such   the  notice, protest the accuracy
of the computation or recomputation. The 20-day 
 30-day  period may be extended for good cause. The
department shall consider  any such   this 
protest and shall promptly notify the claimant and the base period
employer submitting the protest of the recomputation or denial of
recomputation. An appeal may be taken from a notice of denial of
recomputation in the manner prescribed in Section 1328. The director
shall be an interested party to any appeal.
   "Good cause," as used in this section, shall include, but not be
limited to, mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.
   SEC. 5.    Section 1332 of the  
Unemployment Insurance Code   is amended to read: 
   1332.  (a) The department shall promptly serve notice of any
determination of eligibility for benefits under this part or Part 3
or Part 4 of this division on the claimant and on any employer or
employing unit which prior to this determination has furnished the
department with information regarding the claimant's eligibility
pursuant to Sections 1327 and 1331. Service shall be made personally
or by mail. Failure to serve this notice shall not affect the
determination of eligibility.
   (1) "Notice" is that notification which apprises the party of a
determination of eligibility and allows that party to respond
accordingly.
   (2) If the department is or should be aware that the notice was
not received by the party to whom it was addressed, including, but
not limited to, the return to the department of the notice by the
United States Post Office, the department shall reissue the notice at
such time as the department can determine a corrected mailing
address for the affected party or otherwise ensure receipt. The
affected party shall have appeal rights pursuant to subdivisions (b)
and (c), and pursuant to Section 1328.
   (b) The department may for good cause reconsider any determination
within 15 days after an appeal to an administrative law judge is
filed. If no appeal is filed, the department may for good cause
reconsider any determination within  20   30
 days after mailing or personal service of the notice of
determination. The department may, if a claimant has not filed an
appeal to an administrative law judge from any determination 
which   that  finds that a claimant is ineligible
or disqualified, or if an appeal has been filed but is either
withdrawn or dismissed, for good cause also reconsider the
determination during the benefit year or extended duration period or
extended benefit period to which the determination relates. The
department shall give notice of any reconsidered determination to the
claimant and any employer or employing unit  which 
 that  received notice under Sections 1328 and 1331 and the
claimant or employer may appeal therefrom in the manner prescribed
in Section 1328.
   The director shall designate individuals to review and reconsider
appealed determinations. No individual designated shall be the same
individual who made the initial determination in the same matter.
   (c) The department may for good cause reconsider any computation
or recomputation provided for in this article during the benefit year
or extended duration period to which the notice of computation or
recomputation relates, except that no recomputation may be considered
with respect to any issue considered or under consideration in an
appeal taken from a denial of recomputation. The department shall
promptly notify the claimant and each of the claimant's base period
employers of the recomputation. The claimant and any base period
employer may protest the accuracy of the recomputation as prescribed
in Section 1330.
   SEC. 2.   SEC. 6.   Section 1334 of the
Unemployment Insurance Code is amended to read:
   1334.  (a) An administrative law judge after affording a
reasonable opportunity for fair hearing, shall, unless  such
  the  appeal is withdrawn, affirm, reverse,
modify, or set aside any determination  which  
that  is appealed under this article. The claimant, the employer
becoming a party to the appeal by submitting a protest or
information pursuant to Sections 1326 to 1333, inclusive, of this
article, and the director shall be promptly notified in writing of
the administrative law judge's decision, together with reasons for
it. The decision shall be final unless, within 30 days after mailing
of the decision, further appeal is initiated to the appeals board
pursuant to Section 1336. The 30-day limitation may be extended for
good cause.
   (b) "Good cause," as used in this section, shall include, but not
be limited to, mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.

   SEC. 7.    Section 1377 of the  
Unemployment Insurance Code   is amended to read: 
   1377.  Within  20   30  days from the
date of mailing or serving of the notice of overpayment, the person
affected may file an appeal to an administrative law judge. The
director shall be an interested party to any such appeal. The
administrative law judge, after affording reasonable opportunity for
a fair hearing, shall unless the appeal is withdrawn, affirm,
reverse, modify, or set aside the findings set forth in the notice of
overpayment. The party and the director shall be notified of the
administrative law judge's decision, together with his reasons
therefor, which shall be final unless within  20 
 30  days from the date of notification or mailing of the
decision a further appeal is initiated to the appeals board pursuant
to Section 1336. The  20-day   30-day 
period for an appeal to the administrative law judge or to the
appeals board may be extended for good cause.
   "Good cause," as used in this section, shall include, but not be
limited to, mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.
   SEC. 8.    Section 3654.4 of the  
Unemployment Insurance Code   is amended to read: 
   3654.4.  The department shall consider the facts submitted by an
employing unit pursuant to Section 3654.1 and make a determination as
to the exhaustee's eligibility for extended duration benefits under
subdivision (e) of Section 3552. The department shall promptly notify
the exhaustee and any employing unit who prior to the determination
has submitted any facts pursuant to Section 3654.1 of the
determination and the reasons therefor. The exhaustee and 
any such   the  employing unit may appeal therefrom
to an administrative law judge within  20   30
 days from mailing or personal service of notice of the
determination. The  20-day   30-day  period
may be extended for good cause. The director shall be an interested
party to any appeal.
   "Good cause," as used in this section, shall include, but not be
limited to, mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.
   SEC. 9.    Section 3655 of the  
Unemployment Insurance Code   is amended to read: 
   3655.  The Employment Development Department shall consider the
facts submitted by an employer pursuant to Section 3654 and, if
benefits are claimed subsequent to the filing of the extended
duration benefits claim, make a determination as to the exhaustee's
eligibility for the extended duration benefits. The Employment
Development Department shall promptly notify the exhaustee and any
employer who prior to the determination has submitted any facts
pursuant to Section 3654 of the determination and the reasons
therefor. The exhaustee and  any such   this
 employer may appeal therefrom to an administrative law judge
within  20   30  days from mailing or
personal service of notice of the determination. The  20-day
  30-day  period may be extended for good cause.
The Director of Employment Development shall be an interested party
to any appeal.
   "Good cause," as used in this section, shall include, but not be
limited to, mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.
   SEC. 10.    Section 3656 of the  
Unemployment Insurance Code   is amended to read: 
   3656.  Upon the filing of a valid primary claim by an exhaustee,
the department shall promptly make an extended duration award
computation  which   that  shall set forth
the maximum amount of extended duration benefits potentially payable
during the extended duration period, the weekly benefit amount, and
the expiration date of the extended duration period. The department
shall promptly notify the exhaustee of the computation.  He
  The exhaustee  may, within  20 
 30  days after the mailing or personal service of the
notice of computation, protest its accuracy. The  20-day
  30-day  period may be extended for good cause.
The department shall consider  any such   the
 protest and shall promptly notify the exhaustee of the
recomputation or denial of recomputation. An appeal may be taken from
a notice of denial of recomputation in the manner prescribed in
Section 3655. The director shall be an interested party to any
appeal.
   "Good cause," as used in this section, shall include, but not be
limited to, mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.
  SEC. 11.    Section 3701 of the  
Unemployment Insurance Code   is amended to read: 
   3701.  (a) (1) An employer that is entitled under Section 3654 to
notice of the filing of a primary claim or additional claim and that,
within 10 days after mailing of the notice, submits to the
department any facts within its possession disclosing whether the
exhaustee left the most recent employment with the employer
voluntarily and without good cause or was discharged from the
employment for misconduct connected with his or her work, or whether
the claimant was a student employed on a temporary basis and whose
employment began within, and ended with his or her leaving to return
to school at the close of, his or her vacation period, or whether the
claimant left the employer's employ to accompany his or her spouse
or domestic partner to a place or join him or her at a place from
which it is impractical to commute to the employment, and to which a
transfer of the claimant by the employer is not available, or whether
the claimant's discharge or quit from his or her most recent
employer was the result of an irresistible compulsion to use or
consume intoxicants, including alcoholic beverages, or whether the
claimant left the employer's employ to protect his or her family or
himself or herself from domestic violence abuse, or whether the
claimant left the employer's employ to take a substantially better
job, shall be entitled to a ruling as prescribed by this section. The
period during which the employer may submit these facts may be
extended by the director for good cause.
   (2) For purposes of this section, "spouse" includes a person to
whom marriage is imminent, and "domestic partner" includes a person
to whom a domestic partnership, as described in Section 297 of the
Family Code, is imminent.
   (b) The department shall consider these facts together with any
information in its possession. If the employer is entitled to a
determination pursuant to Section 3655, the department shall promptly
notify the employer of its ruling as to the cause of the termination
of the exhaustee's most recent employment. The employer may appeal
from a ruling or reconsidered ruling to an administrative law judge
within  20   30  days after mailing or
personal service of notice of the ruling or reconsidered ruling. The
 20-day   30-day  period may be extended
for good cause, which shall include, but not be limited to, mistake,
inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect. The director shall be
an interested party to an appeal. The department may for good cause
reconsider a ruling or reconsidered ruling within either five days
after the date an appeal to an administrative law judge is filed or,
if an appeal is not filed, within  20   30 
days after mailing or personal service of notice of the ruling or
reconsidered ruling, except that a ruling or reconsidered ruling
 which   that  related to a determination
that is reconsidered pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 1332 may
also be reconsidered by the department within the time provided for
reconsideration of that determination.
   (c) For purposes of this section only, if the claimant voluntarily
leaves the employer's employ without notification to the employer of
the reasons therefor, and if the employer submits all of the facts
within its possession concerning the leaving within the applicable
time period referred to in this section, the leaving shall be
presumed to be without good cause.
   (d) An individual whose employment is terminated under the
compulsory retirement provisions of a collective bargaining agreement
to which the employer is a party shall not be deemed to have
voluntarily left his or her employment without good cause.
   (e) Rulings under this section shall have the effect prescribed by
Section 1032.
   SEC. 12.    Section 4655 of the  
Unemployment Insurance Code   is amended to read: 
   4655.  The Employment Development Department shall consider the
facts submitted by an employer pursuant to Section 4654 and, if
benefits are claimed subsequent to the filing of the federal-state
extended benefits claim, make a determination as to the individual's
eligibility for the federal-state extended benefits. The Employment
Development Department shall promptly notify the individual and any
employer who prior to the determination has submitted any facts
pursuant to Section 4654 of the determination and the reasons
therefor. The individual and  any such   this
 employer may appeal therefrom to an administrative law judge
within  20   30  days from mailing or
personal service of notice of the determination. The  20-day
  30-day  period may be extended for good cause.
The Director of Employment Development shall be an interested party
to any appeal.
   "Good cause," as used in this section, shall include, but not be
limited to, mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.
   SEC. 13.    Section 4656 of the  
Unemployment Insurance Code   is amended to read: 
   4656.  Upon the filing of a valid application by an individual,
the department shall promptly make a federal-state extended benefit
award computation  which   that  shall set
forth the maximum amount of federal-state extended benefits
potentially payable during the extended benefit period, and the
weekly benefit amount. The department shall promptly notify the
individual of the computation.  He   The
individual  may, within  20   30  days
after the mailing or personal service of the notice of computation
or recomputation, protest its accuracy. The  20-day 
 30-day  period may be extended for good cause. The
department shall consider  any such   this 
protest and shall promptly notify the individual of the
recomputation or denial of recomputation. An appeal may be taken from
a notice of denial of recomputation in the manner provided in
Section 4655. The director shall be an interested party to any
appeal.
   "Good cause," as used in this section, shall include, but not be
limited to, mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.
   SEC. 14.    Section 4701 of the  
Unemployment Insurance Code   is amended to read: 
   4701.  (a) (1) An employer that is entitled under Section 4654 to
notice of the filing of an application or additional claim and who,
within 10 days after mailing of the notice, submits to the department
any facts within its possession disclosing whether the individual
left the most recent employment with the employer voluntarily and
without good cause or was discharged from the employment for
misconduct connected with his or her work, or whether the claimant
was a student employed on a temporary basis and whose employment
began within, and ended with his or her leaving to return to school
at the close of, his or her vacation period, or whether the claimant
left the employer's employ to accompany his or her spouse or domestic
partner to a place or to join him or her at a place from which it is
impractical to commute to the employment, and to which a transfer of
the claimant by the employer is not available, or whether the
claimant's discharge or quit from his or her most recent employer was
the result of an irresistible compulsion to use or consume
intoxicants, including alcoholic beverages, or whether the claimant
left the employer's employ to protect his or her family or himself or
herself from domestic violence abuse, or whether the claimant left
the employer's employ to take a substantially better job, shall be
entitled to a ruling as prescribed by this section. The period during
which the employer may submit these facts may be extended by the
director for good cause.
   (2) For purposes of this section, "spouse" includes a person to
whom marriage is imminent, and "domestic partner" includes a person
to whom a domestic partnership, as described in Section 297 of the
Family Code, is imminent.
   (b) The department shall consider the facts together with any
information in its possession. If the employer is entitled to a
determination pursuant to Section 4655, the department shall promptly
issue to the employer its ruling as to the cause of the termination
of the individual's most recent employment. The employer may appeal
from a ruling or reconsidered ruling to an administrative law judge
within  20   30  days after mailing or
personal service of notice of the ruling or reconsidered ruling. The
 20-day   30-day  period may be extended
for good cause, which shall include, but not be limited to, mistake,
inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect. The director shall be
an interested party to an appeal. The department may for good cause
reconsider a ruling or reconsidered ruling within either five days
after the date an appeal to an administrative law judge is filed or,
if no appeal is filed, within  20   30 
days after mailing or personal service
             of notice of the ruling or reconsidered ruling, except
that a ruling or reconsidered ruling that relates to a determination
that is reconsidered pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 1332 may
also be reconsidered by the department within the time provided for
reconsideration of that determination.
   (c) For purposes of this section only, if the claimant voluntarily
leaves the employer's employ without notification to the employer of
the reasons therefor, and if the employer submits all of the facts
within its possession concerning the leaving within the applicable
time period referred to in this section, the leaving shall be
presumed to be without good cause.
   (d) An individual whose employment is terminated under the
compulsory retirement provisions of a collective bargaining agreement
to which the employer is a party shall not be deemed to have
voluntarily left his or her employment without good cause.
   (e) Rulings under this section shall have the effect prescribed by
Section 1032.