BILL NUMBER: AB 1845 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 11, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 29, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Solorio
FEBRUARY 22, 2012
An act to amend Sections 803, 821, 1030, 1032,
1032.5, 1088.5, 1329.1, 1335, 1338, 1375.1,
1381, 1521, 1595, 3701, 4701, 13021, and 13021.5 of, and to add
Section 1026.1 to, the Unemployment Insurance Code, relating to
unemployment insurance, and making an appropriation therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1845, as amended, Solorio. Unemployment compensation benefits:
overpayment assessments: termination: income tax withholding.
Existing law requires the director of the Employment Development
Department to maintain a separate reserve account for each employer,
and generally requires the director to credit each reserve account
with all the contributions paid on the employer's behalf and to
charge against the employer's reserve account unemployment
compensation benefits paid to an unemployed individual during any
benefit year during his or her base period. Under existing law,
certain benefits paid to claimants are not charged to an employer's
reserve account, except as provided, if the department rules that
specified circumstances exist.
This bill would provide that an employer's reserve account is not
relieved of charges relating to a benefit overpayment established on
or after October 22, 2013, if the department determines that the
payment was made because the employer, or an agent of the employer,
was at fault for failing to respond timely or adequately to any
request of the department for information relating to a claim for
unemployment compensation benefits and the employer or agent has
established a pattern of failing to respond timely or adequately to
such requests, as provided.
Existing law permits certain employing units to elect to pay the
cost of benefits into the Unemployment Fund in lieu of paying
contributions required of employers. Existing law provides that the
cost of benefits charged to that employer includes benefits or
payments improperly paid.
This bill would provide that the cost of benefits charged to an
employer under that election include credits of benefit overpayments
actually collected by the department, unless the department
determines that the payment was made because the entity, or an agent
of the entity, was at fault for failing to respond timely or
adequately to any request of the department for information relating
to a claim for unemployment compensation benefits and the entity or
agent has established a pattern of failing to respond timely or
adequately to such requests. This provision would apply to benefit
overpayments established on or after October 22, 2013.
Existing law requires each employer to report to the department,
as specified, the hiring of any employee who works in this state and
to whom the employer anticipates paying wages.
This bill would additionally require each employer to report the
hiring of any employee who previously worked for the employer, but
had been separated from such prior employment for at least 60
consecutive days.
Existing law requires the Director of Employment Development to
credit to each employer reserve account benefit overpayments
collected in the 4 quarters prior to the computation date.
This bill would prohibit the director from crediting an employer
reserve account for benefit overpayments collected if the employer
fails to respond timely or adequately to claim notifications from the
Employment Development Department for a claim that was subsequently
overpaid and establishes a pattern of failing to respond timely or
adequately to requests from the department for information relating
to unemployment insurance claims.
Existing law requires each employer to file with the Employment
Development Department a report on new employees hired in this state
that the employer anticipates paying wages.
This bill would include in that report the hiring of an employee
previously employed by that employer, but who has not been employed
by that employer for at least 60 consecutive days, but would not
include in that report the hiring of an employee previously employed
by that employer less than 60 consecutive days prior to the rehiring.
Existing law allows an employer that is entitled to receive notice
of the filing of a new or additional claim for unemployment benefits
to submit to the Employment Development Department facts explaining
the reasons for the claimant leaving the employer's employ; however,
the employer is restricted to providing reasons only from a specified
list that the department will use to determine the cause of
termination. Existing law also allows a base period employer that is
not entitled to receive notice of the filing of a new or additional
claim for unemployment benefits, but is entitled to notice of
computation, to submit to the department facts explaining the reasons
for the claimant leaving the employer's employ; however, the
employer is restricted to providing reasons only from a specified
list that the department will use to determine the cause of
termination.
This bill would expand these lists to include as a reason, the
claimant leaving the employer's employ for a substantially better
job.
Existing law allows an employer that is entitled to receive notice
of the filing of a primary claim or additional claim for extended
unemployment compensation benefits or federal-state extended benefits
to submit to the Employment Development Department any facts
explaining the reason for the claimant leaving the employer's employ;
however, the employer is restricted to providing reasons only from a
specified list that the department will use to determine the cause
of termination.
This bill would expand these lists to include the claimant leaving
the employer's employ for reason of a substantially better job or to
protect his or her family or himself or herself from domestic
violence abuse.
Existing law provides that a claim for unemployment compensation
benefits may be canceled if the individual has not been deemed
ineligible for unemployment compensation benefits, has not been
overpaid unemployment compensation benefits, and has not collected
unemployment compensation benefits.
This bill would, in order to cancel a claim for unemployment
compensation benefits, add an additional requirement that the
individual request to cancel the claim during the benefit year of
that claim or the extended duration period of that claim.
Existing law authorizes the Employment Development Department to
administer the federal-state unemployment insurance program and
provides for the payment of unemployment compensation benefits to
eligible individuals who are unemployed through no fault of their
own.
Federal law requires, on and after October 22, 2013, at the time a
state agency determines an erroneous payment from its unemployment
insurance fund was made to an individual due to fraud committed by
the individual, the assessment of a penalty on the individual in an
amount of not less than 15% of the amount of the erroneous payment,
and requires that assessment to be deposited into the unemployment
insurance fund of the state.
Under existing law, if the Director of Employment Development
finds that an individual has been overpaid unemployment compensation
benefits because he or she, for the purpose of obtaining those
benefits, either made a false statement or representation, with
actual knowledge of the falsity, or withheld a material fact, the
director is required to assess against the individual an amount equal
to 30% of the overpayment amount. Existing law requires the
assessments collected to be deposited in the Benefit Audit Fund.
This bill would require that assessments, for overpaid
unemployment compensation benefits, collected after October 21, 2013,
be deposited into the Benefit Audit Fund and the Unemployment Fund
equally. By providing a new source of revenue for the continuously
appropriated Unemployment Fund, this bill would make an
appropriation.
This bill would instead, for penalty assessments established on
and after October 22, 2013, require that overpayment assessment
amount to be deposited 50% into the Unemployment Trust Fund and 50%
into the Benefit Audit Fund.
By depositing additional amounts into the Unemployment Trust Fund
in the Unemployment Fund, which is a continuously appropriated
special fund, this bill would make an appropriation.
Existing law requires employers to withhold income taxes each
calendar quarter, file a withholding report, a quarterly return, a
report of wages, and pay over the taxes so required to be withheld.
Existing law requires employers to remit the total amount of income
tax withheld within a specified number of banking days, and uses
banking days to determine when a payment is complete.
This bill would, under those provisions, on and after January 1,
2013, use business days to measure time instead of banking days, as
provided.
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 803 of the
Unemployment Insurance Code is amended to read:
803. (a) As used in this section, "entity" means any employing
unit that is authorized by any provision of Article 4 (commencing
with Section 701) or by Section 801 or 802 to elect a method of
financing coverage permitted by this section.
(b) In lieu of the contributions required of employers, an entity
may elect any one of the following:
(1) To pay into the Unemployment Fund the cost of benefits,
including extended duration benefits and federal-state extended
benefits, paid based on base period wages with respect to employment
for the entity and charged to its account in the manner provided by
Section 1026, pursuant to authorized regulations that shall prescribe
the rate or amount, time, manner, and method of payment or advance
payment or providing a good and sufficient bond to guarantee payment
of contributions.
(2) Two or more entities may, pursuant to authorized regulations,
file an application with the director for the establishment of a
joint account for the purpose of determining the rate of
contributions they shall pay into the Unemployment Fund to reimburse
the fund for benefits paid with respect to employment for those
entities. The members of the joint account may share the cost of
benefits, including extended duration benefits and federal-state
extended benefits, paid based on the base period wages with respect
to employment for those members and charged to the joint account in
the manner provided by Section 1026. The director shall prescribe
authorized regulations for the establishment, maintenance, and
dissolution of joint accounts, and for the rate or amount, time,
manner, and method of payment or advance payment or providing a good
and sufficient bond to guarantee payment of contributions by the
members of joint accounts, on the cost of benefits charged in the
manner provided by Section 1026.
(c) Sections 1030, 1031, 1032, and 1032.5, and any provision of
this division for the noncharging of benefits to the account of an
employer, shall not apply to an election under subdivision (b). The
cost of benefits charged to an entity under this section shall
include, but not be limited to, benefits or payments improperly paid
in excess of a weekly benefit amount, or in excess of a maximum
benefit amount, or otherwise in excess of the amount that should have
been paid, due to any computational or other error of any type by
the Employment Development Department or the Department of Benefit
Payments, whether or not the error could be anticipated.
(d) The cost of benefits charged to an employer under this section
shall include credits of benefit overpayments actually collected by
the department, unless the department determines that the payment was
made because the entity, or an agent of the entity, was at fault for
failing to respond timely or adequately to any request of the
department for information relating to a claim for unemployment
compensation benefits and the entity or agent has established a
pattern of failing to respond timely or adequately to such requests.
This section shall apply to benefit overpayments established on or
after October 22, 2013.
(d)
(e) In making the payments prescribed by subdivision
(b), there shall be paid or credited to the Unemployment Fund, either
in advance or by way of reimbursement, as may be determined by the
director, any sums he or she estimates the Unemployment Fund will be
entitled to receive from each entity for each calendar quarter,
reduced or increased by any sum by which he or she finds that his or
her estimates for any prior calendar quarter were greater or less
than the amounts which should have been paid to the fund. The
estimates may be made upon the basis of statistical sampling, or any
other method as may be determined by the director.
Upon making that determination, the director shall give notice of
the determination, pursuant to Section 1206, to the entity. The
director may cancel any contributions or portion thereof that he or
she finds has been erroneously determined.
The director shall charge to any special fund, that is responsible
for the salary of any employee of an entity, the amount determined
by the director for which the fund is liable pursuant to this
section. The contributions due from the entity shall be paid from the
liable special fund, the General Fund, or other liable fund to the
Unemployment Fund by the Controller or other officer or person
responsible for disbursements on behalf of the entity within 30 days
of the date of mailing of the director's notice of determination to
the entity. The director for good cause may extend for not to exceed
60 days the time for paying without penalty the amount determined and
required to be paid. Contributions are due upon the date of mailing
of the notice of determination and are delinquent if not paid on or
before the 30th day following the date of mailing of the notice.
(e)
(f) Any entity that fails to pay the contributions
required within the time required shall be liable for interest on the
contributions at the adjusted annual rate and by the method
established pursuant to Section 19521 of the Revenue and Taxation
Code from and after the date of delinquency until paid, and any
entity that without good cause fails to pay any contributions
required within the time required shall pay a penalty of 10 percent
of the amount of the contributions. If the entity fails to pay the
contributions required on or before the delinquency date, the
director may assess the entity for the amount required by the notice
of determination. This subdivision shall not apply to employers
electing financing under Section 821, for amounts due after December
31, 1992.
(f)
(g) Article 8 (commencing with Section 1126) of Chapter
4 of Part 1 with respect to the assessment of contributions, and
Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 1701) of Part 1 with respect to
the collection of contributions, shall apply to the assessments
provided by this section. Sections 1177 to 1184, inclusive, relating
to refunds and overpayments, shall apply to amounts paid to the
Unemployment Fund pursuant to this section. Sections 1222, 1223,
1224, 1241, and 1242 shall apply to matters arising under this
section.
(g)
(h) (1) The director may terminate the election of any
entity for financing under this section if the entity is delinquent
in the payment of advances or reimbursements required by the director
under this section. After any termination the entity may again make
an election pursuant to this section but only if it is not delinquent
in the payment of contributions and not delinquent in the payment of
advances or reimbursements required by the director under this
section.
(2) In the case of an Indian tribe (as described by subsection (u)
of Section 3306 of Title 26 of the United States Code), the director
shall terminate all elections for the tribe and all subdivisions,
subsidiaries, and business enterprises wholly owned by that tribe if
the tribe or any subdivision, subsidiary, or business enterprise
wholly owned by that tribe is more than 90 days delinquent in the
payment of contributions, bonds, advances, reimbursements, or
applicable penalties or interest required under this code, after
notice to the tribe. After any termination the Indian tribe may again
make an election pursuant to this section but only if it is not
delinquent in the payment of contributions, bonds, advances,
reimbursements, or applicable penalties or interest required under
this code.
(h)
(i) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
section, no entity shall be liable for that portion of any extended
duration benefits or federal-state extended benefits that is
reimbursed or reimbursable by the federal government to the State of
California.
(i)
(j) After the termination of any election under this
section, the entity shall remain liable for its proportionate share
of the cost of benefits paid and charged to its account in the manner
provided by Section 1026, which are based on wages paid for services
during the period of the election. That liability may be charged
against any remaining balance of a prior reserve account used by the
entity pursuant to Section 712 or 713. Any portion of the remaining
balance shall be included in the reserve account of the entity
following any termination of an election under this section which
occurs prior to the expiration of a period of three consecutive years
commencing with the effective date of the election. For purposes of
Section 982, the period of an election under Section 803 shall, to
the extent permitted by federal law, be included as a period during
which a reserve account has been subject to benefit charges.
SEC. 2. Section 821 of the Unemployment
Insurance Code is amended to read:
821. (a) Each school employer may, in lieu of the contributions
required of employers, elect to pay into the Unemployment Fund the
cost of benefits, including extended duration benefits and
federal-state extended benefits, paid based on base period wages with
respect to employment for an employing unit and charged to its
account in the manner provided by Section 1026, pursuant to
authorized regulations that shall prescribe the rate or amount, time,
manner, and method of payment or advance payment or providing a good
and sufficient bond to guarantee payment of contributions. The
provisions of this article shall apply to school employers who have
elected financing under this section.
(b) Sections 1030, 1031, 1032, and 1032.5, and any provision of
this division for the noncharging of benefits to the account of an
employer, shall not apply to an employing unit under subdivision (a).
The cost of benefits charged to a school employer under this section
shall include, but not be limited to, benefits or payments
improperly paid in excess of a weekly benefit amount, or in excess of
a maximum benefit amount, or otherwise in excess of the amount that
should have been paid, due to any computational or other error of any
type by the Employment Development Department or the Department of
Benefit Payments, whether or not the error could be anticipated.
(c) The cost of benefits charged to a school employer under this
section shall include credits of benefit overpayments actually
collected by the department, unless the department determines that
the payment was made because the school employer, or an agent of the
school employer, was at fault for failing to respond timely or
adequately to any request of the department for information relating
to a claim for unemployment compensation benefits and the school
employer or agent has established a pattern of failing to respond
timely or adequately to such requests. This section shall apply to
benefit overpayments established on or after October 22, 2013.
(c)
(d) In making the payments prescribed by subdivision
(a), there shall be paid or credited to the Unemployment Fund, either
in advance or by way of reimbursement, as may be determined by the
director, any sums he or she estimates the Unemployment Fund will be
entitled to receive from each employing unit for each calendar
quarter, reduced or increased by any sum by which he or she finds
that his or her estimates for any prior calendar quarter were greater
or less than the amounts that should have been paid to the fund.
These estimates may be made upon the basis of a statistical sampling,
or other method as may be determined by the director.
Upon making the determination, the director shall mail notice of
the determination, pursuant to Section 1206, to the employing unit.
The director may cancel any contributions or portion thereof that
he or she finds have been erroneously determined. The contributions
due from the employing units shall be paid, transferred, or credited
from the School Employees Fund established in the State Treasury by
Section 822 to the Unemployment Fund by the State Treasurer, State
Controller, or other officer or person responsible for disbursements
on behalf of the employing unit within 30 days of the date of mailing
of the director's notice of determination to the employing unit.
Each employing unit shall send a copy of any and all notices,
billings, or correspondence not normally routed to the administrator
and the Superintendent of Public Instruction, regarding unemployment
insurance for the school employees, to the administrator, the
Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the county superintendent
of schools, or agent thereof, with timely documentation of charges or
determination. Article 8 (commencing with Section 1126) of Chapter 4
with respect to the assessment of contributions, and Chapter 7
(commencing with Section 1701) with respect to the collection of
contributions, shall apply to the assessments provided by this
article. Sections 1177 to 1184, inclusive, relating to refunds and
overpayments, shall apply to amounts paid to the Unemployment Fund
pursuant to this section. Sections 1222, 1223, 1224, 1241, and 1242
shall apply to matters arising under this section.
(d)
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
section, no employing unit shall be liable for that portion of any
extended duration benefits or federal-state extended benefits that is
reimbursed or reimbursable by the federal government to the state.
(e)
(f) To the extent permitted by federal law, including
Section 121(e) of Public Law 94-566, any school employer that elects
a method of financing under this article shall not be liable to
reimburse the cost of benefits paid to any individual whose base
period wages include wages for services performed prior to January 1,
1978, if the benefits are reimbursable by the federal government
under Section 121 of Public Law 94-566 and to the extent that the
individual would not have been eligible for the benefits had this
state not provided for benefits payable based on services performed
prior to January 1, 1978.
(f)
(g) The administrator and the Superintendent of Public
Instruction shall adopt rules and regulations for the administration
of their respective functions under this article in accordance with
Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3
of Title 2 of the Government Code. Regulations of the administrator
shall be subject to Article 1 (commencing with Section 301) of
Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 1. Rules and regulations of the
Superintendent of Public Instruction shall not be subject to the
provisions of Article 1 (commencing with Section 301) of Chapter 2 of
Part 1 of Division 1.
(g)
(h) Any election for financing coverage under this
section shall take effect with respect to services performed from and
after the first day of the calendar quarter in which the election is
filed with the director, and shall continue in effect for not less
than two full calendar years. Thereafter, the election under this
section may be terminated as of January 1 of any calendar year only
if the school employer, on or before the 31st day of January of that
year, has filed with the director a written application for
termination. The director may for good cause waive the requirement
that a written application for termination shall be filed on or
before the 31st day of January. School employers shall be prohibited
from making a subsequent reelection under this section for 10 years
from the date of termination of an election under this section. An
election for financing coverage under this section is deemed to have
been filed by every school employer effective as of January 1, 1976,
is deemed to have been in effect for two calendar years prior to
January 1, 1978, and may be terminated as of January 1, 1978, or as
of January 1, 1980, or any later January 1 pursuant to this section.
Upon the termination of any election under this section, the school
employer shall be and remain liable for all benefits paid based upon
wages paid by the school employer during the period of an election
under this section.
SECTION 1. Section 1026.1 is added to the
Unemployment Insurance Code, to read:
1026.1. Notwithstanding any other law, the director shall not
credit an employer reserve account for benefit overpayments collected
if an employer or an agent of the employer does both of the
following:
(a) Fails to respond timely or adequately to claim notifications
from the department for a claim that was subsequently overpaid.
(b) Establishes a pattern of failing to respond timely or
adequately to requests from the department for information relating
to unemployment insurance claims.
SEC. 3. Section 1026.1 is added to the
Unemployment Insurance Code , to read:
1026.1. Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, an
employer's reserve account shall not be relieved of charges relating
to a benefit overpayment, as described in Article 4 (commencing with
Section 1375) of Chapter 5, if the department determines that the
payment was made because the employer, or an agent of the employer,
was at fault for failing to respond timely or adequately to any
request of the department for information relating to a claim for
unemployment compensation benefits and the employer or agent has
established a pattern of failing to respond timely or adequately to
such requests. This section shall apply to benefit overpayments
established on or after October 22, 2013.
SEC. 2. SEC. 4. 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 days after mailing or personal
service of notice of the ruling or reconsidered ruling. The 20-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 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. 5. Section 1032 of the
Unemployment Insurance Code is amended to read:
1032. If it is ruled under Section 1030 or 1328 that the claimant
left the employer's employ voluntarily and without good cause, or
left under one of the following circumstances, benefits paid to the
claimant subsequent to the termination of employment that are based
upon wages earned from the employer prior to the date of the
termination of employment shall not be charged to the account of the
employer, 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, unless the
employer failed to furnish the information specified in Section 1030
within the time limit prescribed in that section or unless that
ruling is reversed by a reconsidered ruling:
(a) The claimant was discharged by reason of misconduct connected
with his or her work.
(b) 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.
(c) 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.
(d) The claimant left the employer's employ to protect his or her
family or himself or herself from domestic violence abuse.
(e) The claimant left the employer's employ to take a
substantially better job.
(f) 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.
(g) 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. 6. 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 o r 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 days after mailing or personal
service of notice of the ruling or reconsidered ruling. The 20-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 days after mailing or personal service of
the notice of the ruling or reconsidered ruling.
SEC. 3. Section 1088.5 of the Unemployment
Insurance Code is amended to read:
1088.5. (a) In addition to information reported in accordance
with Section 1088, effective July 1, 1998, each employer shall file,
with the department, the information provided for in subdivision (b)
on new employees.
(b) Each employer shall report the hiring of an employee who works
in this state and to whom the employer anticipates paying wages. The
report shall include the hiring of an employee previously employed
by the employer, but has not been employed by that employer for 60 or
more consecutive days prior to rehiring. The report shall not
include the hiring of an employee previously employed by that
employer less than 60 consecutive days prior to rehiring.
(c) (1) This section shall not apply to a department, agency, or
instrumentality of the United States.
(2) State agency employers shall not be required to report
employees performing intelligence or counterintelligence functions,
if the head of the agency has determined that reporting pursuant to
this section would endanger the safety of the employee or compromise
an ongoing investigation or intelligence mission.
(d) (1) Employers shall submit a report as described in paragraph
(4) within 20 days of hiring any employee whom the employer is
required to report pursuant to this section.
(2) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), employers transmitting
reports magnetically or electronically shall submit the report by two
monthly transmissions not less than 12 days and not more than 16
days apart.
(3) For purposes of this section, an employer that has employees
in two or more states and that transmits reports magnetically or
electronically may designate one state in which the employer has
employees to which the employer will transmit the report described in
paragraph (4). Any employer that transmits reports pursuant to this
paragraph shall notify the Secretary of Health and Human Services in
writing as to which state the employer designates for the purpose of
sending reports.
(4) The report shall contain the following:
(A) The name, address, and social security number of the
employees.
(B) The employer's name, address, state employer identification
number (if one has been issued), and identifying number assigned to
the employer under Section 6109 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(C) The first date the employee worked.
(5) Employers may report pursuant to this section by submitting a
copy of the employee's W-4 form, a form provided by the department,
or any other hiring document transmitted by first-class mail,
magnetically, or electronically.
(e) For each failure to report the hiring of an employee, as
required and within the time required by this section, unless the
failure is due to good cause, the department may assess a penalty of
twenty-four dollars ($24), or four hundred ninety dollars ($490) if
the failure is the result of conspiracy between the employer and
employee not to supply the required report or to supply a false or
incomplete report.
(f) Information collected pursuant to this section may be used for
the following purposes:
(1) Administration of this code.
(2) Locating individuals for purposes of establishing paternity
and establishing, modifying, and enforcing child support obligations.
(3) Administration of employment security and workers'
compensation programs.
(4) Providing employer or employee information to the Franchise
Tax Board and the State Board of Equalization for the purpose of tax
or fee enforcement.
(5) Verification of eligibility of applicants for, or recipients
of, the public assistance programs listed in Section 1320b-7(b) of
Title 42 of the United States Code.
(g) For purposes of this section, "employer" includes a labor
union hiring hall.
(h) This section shall become operative on July 1, 1998.
SEC. 7. Section 1088.5 of the
Unemployment Insurance Code is amended to read:
1088.5. (a) In addition to information reported in accordance
with Section 1088, effective July 1, 1998, each employer shall file,
with the department, the information provided for in subdivision (b)
on new employees.
(b) Each employer shall report the hiring of any employee who
works in this state and to whom the employer anticipates paying wages
, and also shall report the hiring of any employee who
previously worked for the employer but had been separated from that
prior employment for at least 60 consecutive days .
(c) (1) This section shall not apply to any department, agency, or
instrumentality of the United States.
(2) State agency employers shall not be required to report
employees performing intelligence or counterintelligence functions,
if the head of the agency has determined that reporting pursuant to
this section would endanger the safety of the employee or compromise
an ongoing investigation or intelligence mission.
(d) (1) Employers shall submit a report as described in paragraph
(4) within 20 days of hiring any employee whom the employer is
required to report pursuant to this section.
(2) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), employers transmitting
reports magnetically or electronically shall submit the report by two
monthly transmissions not less than 12 days and not more than 16
days apart.
(3) For purposes of this section, an employer that has employees
in two or more states and that transmits reports magnetically or
electronically may designate one state in which the employer has
employees to which the employer will transmit the report described in
paragraph (4). Any employer that transmits reports pursuant to this
paragraph shall notify the Secretary of Health and Human Services in
writing as to which state the employer designates for the purpose of
sending reports.
(4) The report shall contain the following:
(A) The name, address, and social security number of the
employees.
(B) The employer's name, address, state employer identification
number (if one has been issued), and identifying number assigned to
the employer under Section 6109 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(C) The first date the employee worked.
(5) Employers may report pursuant to this section by submitting a
copy of the employee's W-4 form, a form provided by the department,
or any other hiring document transmitted by first-class mail,
magnetically, or electronically.
(e) For each failure to report the hiring of an employee, as
required and within the time required by this section, unless the
failure is due to good cause, the department may assess a penalty of
twenty-four dollars ($24), or four hundred ninety dollars ($490) if
the failure is the result of conspiracy between the employer and
employee not to supply the required report or to supply a false or
incomplete report.
(f) Information collected pursuant to this section may be used for
the following purposes:
(1) Administration of this code.
(2) Locating individuals for purposes of establishing paternity
and establishing, modifying, and enforcing child support obligations.
(3) Administration of employment security and workers'
compensation programs.
(4) Providing employer or employee information to the Franchise
Tax Board and the State Board of Equalization for the purpose of tax
or fee enforcement.
(5) Verification of eligibility of applicants for, or recipients
of, the public assistance programs listed in Section 1320b-7(b) of
Title 42 of the United States Code.
(g) For purposes of this section, "employer" includes a labor
union hiring hall.
(h) This section shall become operative on July 1, 1998.
SEC. 4. SEC. 8. Section 1329.1 of
the Unemployment Insurance Code is amended to read:
1329.1. A claim for unemployment compensation benefits may be
canceled if all of the following apply:
(a) The individual has not been deemed ineligible for unemployment
compensation benefits.
(b) The individual has not been overpaid unemployment compensation
benefits.
(c) The individual has not collected unemployment compensation
benefits.
(d) The individual requests to cancel the claim during the benefit
year of that claim, or in the case of a claim for federal-state
extended duration benefits, during the extended duration period of
that claim.
SEC. 9. Section 1335 of the
Unemployment Insurance Code is amended to read:
1335. If an appeal is filed, benefits with respect to the period
prior to the final decision on the appeal shall be paid only after
the decision, except that:
(a) If benefits for any week are payable in accordance with a
determination by the department irrespective of any decision on the
issues set forth in the appeal, such benefits shall be promptly paid
regardless of such appeal.
(b) If an administrative law judge affirms a determination
allowing benefits, such benefits shall be promptly paid regardless of
any appeal which may thereafter be taken, and regardless of any
action taken under Section 1336 or otherwise by the director, appeals
board, or other administrative body or by any court.
If the determination is finally reversed, no employer's account
shall be charged with benefits paid because of that determination,
except as provided in Section 1026 , or if the department
determines pursuant to Section 1026.1 that the employer's
reserve account should not be credited .
(c) If benefits for any week are payable in accordance with a
determination by the department, or an administrative law judge
issues a decision allowing benefits, the benefits shall be promptly
paid regardless of any appeal, and regardless of any action taken by
the appeals board pursuant to Section 412 or 413. If the
determination of the department or the decision of the administrative
law judge is finally reversed, no employer's reserve account shall
be charged with benefits paid pursuant to this subdivision, except as
provided in Section 1026 or if the department determines
pursuant to Section 1026.1 that the employer's reserve account
should not be credited .
SEC. 10. Section 1338 of the
Unemployment Insurance Code is amended to read:
1338. If the appeals board issues a decision allowing benefits
the benefits shall be paid regardless of any further action taken by
the director, the appeals board, or any other administrative agency,
and regardless of any appeal or mandamus, or other proceeding in the
courts. If the decision of the appeals board is finally reversed or
set aside, no employer's account shall be charged with the benefits
paid pursuant to this section, except as provided in Section 1026
, or if the department determines pursuant to Section
1026.1 that the employer's reserve account should not be credited
.
SEC. 5. Section 1375.1 of the Unemployment
Insurance Code is amended to read:
1375.1. (a) If the director finds that an individual has been
overpaid unemployment compensation benefits because he or she
willfully, for the purpose of obtaining unemployment compensation
benefits, either made a false statement or representation, with
actual knowledge of the falsity thereof, or withheld a material fact,
the director shall assess against the individual an amount equal to
30 percent of the overpayment amount. Assessments collected under
this section, on or before October 21, 2013, shall be deposited in
the Benefit Audit Fund.
(b) After October 21, 2013, assessments collected under
subdivision (a) shall be deposited as follows:
(1) Fifty percent in the Benefit Audit Fund.
(2) Fifty percent in the Unemployment Fund.
SEC. 11. Section 1375.1 of the
Unemployment Insurance Code is amended to read:
1375.1. If the director finds that an individual has been
overpaid unemployment compensation benefits because he or she
willfully, for the purpose of obtaining unemployment compensation
benefits, either made a false statement or representation, with
actual knowledge of the falsity thereof, or withheld a material fact,
the director shall assess against the individual an amount equal to
30 percent of the overpayment amount. Assessments collected under
this section shall be deposited in the Benefit Audit Fund.
following manner:
(a) For penalty assessments established prior to October 22, 2013,
100 percent of the overpayment penalty amount in the Benefit Audit
Fund.
(b) For penalty assessments established on or after October 22,
2013, as follows:
(1) 50 percent of the overpayment penalty amount in the
Unemployment Trust Fund.
(2) 50 percent of the overpayment penalty amount in the Benefit
Audit Fund.
SEC. 12. Section 1381 of the
Unemployment Insurance Code is amended to read:
1381. The director shall enforce collection of any judgment
obtained by the director under subdivision (a) or (b) of Section
1379. Amounts collected under this section shall be deposited in the
fund from which the overpayment was made, except that the amounts
collected to offset the costs of collections shall be deposited in
the Unemployment Administration Fund and the amounts collected
pursuant to Section 1375.1 shall be deposited in the Benefit
Audit Fund as specified in that section .
SEC. 13. Section 1521 of the
Unemployment Insurance Code is amended to read
:
1521. The Unemployment Fund is continued in existence as a
special fund, separate and apart from all public money or funds of
this state. This fund shall consist of (1) all employer contributions
collected under this division; (2) interest earned upon any money in
the fund; (3) any property or securities acquired through the use of
money belonging to the fund; (4) all earnings of such property or
securities; (5) all money credited to this state's account in the
Unemployment Trust Fund pursuant to Section 903 of the Social
Security Act, as amended; (6) all assessments collected pursuant
to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 1375.1; and
(6) (7) all other money received for
the fund from any other source. All money in the fund shall be
mingled and undivided.
Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, all money in
the Unemployment Fund and in the various accounts of that fund,
except any money deposited pursuant to Section 1528.5, is
continuously appropriated for the purposes authorized in this
article.
SEC. 14. Section 1595 of the
Unemployment Insurance Code is amended to read:
1595. There is in the State Treasury a special fund known as the
Employment Development Department Benefit Audit Fund. There shall be
deposited in, or transferred to, this fund all sums
collected pursuant to Section 1375.1 and all interest from these sums
those sums as specified pursuant to Section 1375.1,
except all interest collected, shall be deposited in this fund
.
SEC. 6. SEC. 15. 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 days after mailing or personal service of notice of the
ruling or reconsidered ruling. The 20-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 days after mailing or personal
service of notice of the ruling or reconsidered ruling, except that a
ruling or reconsidered ruling which 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. 7. SEC. 16. 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 days after mailing or personal service of notice of the
ruling or reconsidered ruling. The 20-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 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.
SEC. 8. SEC. 17. Section 13021 of
the Unemployment Insurance Code is amended to read:
13021. (a) Every employer required to withhold any tax under
Section 13020 shall for each calendar quarter, whether or not wages
or payments are paid in the quarter, file a withholding report, a
quarterly return, as prescribed in subdivision (a) of Section 1088,
and a report of wages in a form prescribed by the department, and pay
over the taxes so required to be withheld. The report of wages shall
include individual amounts required to be withheld under Section
13020 or withheld under Section 13028. Except as provided in
subdivisions (c) and (d), the employer shall file a withholding
report, a quarterly return, as prescribed in subdivision (a) of
Section 1088, and a report of wages, and remit the total amount of
income taxes withheld during the calendar quarter on or before the
last day of the month following the close of the calendar quarter.
(b) Every employer electing to file a single annual return under
subdivision (d) of Section 1110 shall report and pay any taxes
withheld under Section 13020 on an annual basis within the time
specified in subdivision (d) of Section 1110.
(c) (1) Effective January 1, 1995, whenever an employer is
required, for federal income tax purposes, to remit the total amount
of withheld federal income tax in accordance with Section 6302 of the
Internal Revenue Code and regulations thereunder, and the
accumulated amount of state income tax withheld is more than five
hundred dollars ($500), the employer shall remit the total amount of
income tax withheld for state income tax purposes within the number
of business days as specified for withheld federal income taxes by
Section 6302 of the Internal Revenue Code, and regulations
thereunder.
(2) Effective January 1, 1996, the five hundred dollar ($500)
amount referred to in paragraph (1) shall be adjusted annually as
follows, based on the annual average rate of interest earned on the
Pooled Money Investment Account as of June 30 in the prior fiscal
year:
Average Rate of Interest
Greater than or equal to 9 $ 75
percent:
Less than 9 percent, but greater than
or equal
to 250
7 percent:
Less than 7 percent, but greater than
or equal
to 400
4 percent:
Less than 4 percent: 500
(d) (1) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (c), for calendar
years beginning prior to January 1, 1995, if in the 12-month period
ending June 30 of the prior year the cumulative average payment made
pursuant to this division or Section 1110, for eight-month periods,
as defined under Section 6302 of the Internal Revenue Code and
regulations thereunder, was fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or more,
the employer shall remit the total amount of income tax withheld
within three banking days following the close of each eight-month
period, as described by Section 6302 of the Internal Revenue Code and
regulations thereunder. For purposes of this subdivision, payment
shall be made by electronic funds transfer in accordance with Section
13021.5, for one
calendar year beginning on January 1. Payment is deemed complete on
the date the electronic funds transfer is initiated if settlement to
the state's demand account occurs on or before the banking day
following the date the transfer is initiated. If settlement to the
state's demand account does not occur on or before the banking day
following the date the transfer is initiated, payment is deemed
complete on the date settlement occurs. The department shall, on or
before October 31 of the prior year, notify all employers required to
make payment by electronic funds transfer of these requirements.
(2) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (c), for calendar years
beginning on or after January 1, 1995, if in the 12-month period
ending June 30 of the prior year, the cumulative average payment made
pursuant to this division or Section 1110 for any deposit periods,
as described under Section 6302 of the Internal Revenue Code and
regulations thereunder, was twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) or
more, the employer shall remit the total amount of income tax
withheld within the number of business days as specified for federal
income taxes by Section 6302 of the Internal Revenue Code and
regulations thereunder. For purposes of this subdivision, payment
shall be made by electronic funds transfer in accordance with Section
13021.5, for one calendar year beginning on January 1. Payment is
deemed complete on the date the electronic funds transfer is
initiated if settlement to the state's demand account occurs on or
before the business day following the date the transfer is initiated.
If settlement to the state's demand account does not occur on or
before the business day following the date the transfer is initiated,
payment is deemed complete on the date settlement occurs. The
department shall, on or before October 31 of the prior year, notify
all employers required by this paragraph to make payments by
electronic funds transfer of these requirements.
(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (2), effective January 1, 1995,
electronic funds transfer payments that are subject to the one-day
deposit rule, as described by Section 6302 of the Internal Revenue
Code and regulations thereunder, shall be deemed timely if the
payment settles to the state's demand account within three business
days after the date the employer meets the threshold for the one-day
deposit rule.
(4) Any taxpayer required to remit payments pursuant to paragraphs
(1) and (2) may request from the department a waiver of those
requirements. The department may grant a waiver only if it determines
that the particular amounts paid in excess of fifty thousand dollars
($50,000) or twenty thousand dollars ($20,000), as stated in
paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively, were the result of an
unprecedented occurrence for that employer, and were not
representative of the employer's cumulative average payment in prior
years.
(5) A state agency required to remit payments pursuant to
paragraphs (1) and (2) may request a waiver of those requirements
from the department. The department may grant a waiver if it
determines that there will not be a negative impact on the interest
earnings of the General Fund. If there is a negative impact to the
General Fund, the department may grant a waiver if the requesting
state agency follows procedures designated by the department to
mitigate the impact to the General Fund.
(e) An employer not required to make payment pursuant to
subdivision (d) may elect to make payment by electronic funds
transfer in accordance with Section 13021.5 under the following
conditions:
(1) The election shall be made in a form, and shall contain
information, as prescribed by the director, and shall be subject to
approval by the department.
(2) If approved, the election shall be effective on the date
specified in the notification to the employer of approval.
(3) The election shall be operative from the date specified in the
notification of approval, and shall continue in effect until
terminated by the employer or the department.
(4) Funds remitted by electronic funds transfer pursuant to this
subdivision shall be deemed complete in accordance with subdivision
(d) or as deemed appropriate by the director to encourage use of this
payment method.
(f) Notwithstanding Section 1112, interest and penalties shall not
be assessed against an employer that remits at least 95 percent of
the amount required by subdivision (c) or (d) if the failure to remit
the full amount is not willful and any remaining amount due is paid
with the next payment. The director may allow any employer to submit
the amounts due from multiple locations upon a showing that those
submissions are necessary to comply with subdivision (c) or (d).
(g) The department may, if it believes that action is necessary,
require any employer to make the report or return required by this
section and pay to it the tax deducted and withheld at any time, or
from time to time but no less frequently than provided for in
subdivision (a).
(h) An employer required to withhold any tax and that is not
required to make payment under subdivision (c) shall remit the total
amount of income tax withheld during each month of each calendar
quarter, on or before the 15th day of the subsequent month if the
income tax withheld for any of the three months or, cumulatively for
two or more months, is three hundred fifty dollars ($350) or more.
(i) For purposes of subdivisions (a), (c), and (h), payment is
deemed complete when it is placed in a properly addressed envelope,
bearing the correct postage, and it is deposited in the United States
mail.
(j) (1) In addition to the withholding report, quarterly return,
and report of wages described in subdivision (a), each employer shall
file with the director an annual reconciliation return showing the
amount required to be withheld under Section 13020, and any other
information the director shall prescribe. This annual reconciliation
return shall be due on the first day of January following the close
of the prior calendar year and shall become delinquent if not filed
on or before the last day of that month.
(2) The requirement to file the annual reconciliation return for
the prior calendar year under this subdivision shall not apply to the
2012 calendar year and thereafter.
(k) The requirement in subdivision (a) to file a quarterly return
shall begin with the first calendar quarter of the 2011 calendar
year.
(l) The changes made to this section by the act adding this
subdivision shall apply on and after January 1, 2013.
SEC. 9. SEC. 18. Section 13021.5 of
the Unemployment Insurance Code is amended to read:
13021.5. (a) "Electronic funds transfer" means a transfer of
funds, other than a transaction originated by check, draft, or
similar paper instrument, that is initiated through an electronic
terminal, telephonic instrument, or computer or magnetic tape, so as
to order, instruct, or authorize a financial institution to debit or
credit an account. Electronic funds transfers shall be accomplished
by an automated clearinghouse debit, an automated clearinghouse
credit, Fedwire, or by other specific electronic funds transfer
methods approved in advance by the department.
(b) "Automated clearinghouse" means a federal reserve bank, or an
organization established in agreement with the National Automated
Clearing House Association, that operates as a clearinghouse for
transmitting or receiving entries between banks and/or bank accounts
and which authorizes an electronic transfer of funds between those
banks or bank accounts.
(c) "Automated clearinghouse debit" means a transaction in which
the state, through its designated depository bank, originates an
automated clearinghouse transaction debiting the employer's bank
account and crediting the state's bank account for the amount of tax.
Banking costs incurred for the automated clearinghouse debit
transaction shall be paid by the state.
(d) "Automated clearinghouse credit" means an automated
clearinghouse transaction in which the employer through its own bank,
originates an entry crediting the state's bank account and debiting
its own bank account. Banking costs incurred for the automated
clearinghouse credit transaction charged to the employer and to the
state shall be paid by the employer.
(e) "Fedwire" means a transaction originated by the employer and
utilizing the national electronic payment system to transfer funds
through the federal reserve banks, pursuant to which the employer
debits its own bank account and credits the state's bank account.
Electronic funds transfer payments may be made by Fedwire only if
prior approval is obtained from the department and payment cannot,
for good cause, be made pursuant to subdivision (a). Banking costs
incurred for the Fedwire transaction charged to the employer and to
the state shall be paid by the employer.
(f) "Business day" means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday,
legal holiday as recognized by the Internal Revenue Service,
statewide legal holiday as recognized by the State of California
pursuant to Section 6700 of the Government Code, or a day in which
the department is closed pursuant to Section 12b of the Code of Civil
Procedure.
(g) "Settlement date" means the date on which an exchange of funds
with respect to an entry is reflected on the books of the Federal
Reserve Bank.
(h) For the purposes of Section 13021, the "cumulative average
payment" means the cumulative dollar amount of deposits divided by
the number of payments submitted during a given period. For the
purposes of this section, the "cumulative average payment" may also
be defined as a single annual deposit, when only one payment is made
during the 12-month period ending June 30.