BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
Senator Tony Mendoza, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 2886 Hearing Date: June 8,
2016
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|Author: |Committee on Insurance |
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|Version: |March 29, 2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Brandon Seto |
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Subject: Disability benefits: eligibility determinations:
benefit computations: overpayment determinations: appeals
KEY ISSUE
Should the Legislature extend the California Unemployment
Insurance Appeals Board appeals window for State Disability
Insurance and Paid Family Leave benefits from 20 to 30 days?
ANALYSIS
Existing law
Establishes the State Disability Insurance (SDI) system
to provide partial wage replacement benefits to workers who
are unable to work due to non-work-related illness, injury,
or pregnancy (Unemployment Insurance Code §2601-2614 and
§2625-2630).
Establishes the Paid Family Leave (PFL) system to
provide partial wage replacement benefits for workers who
take time off work and have a wage loss in order to bond
with a new child or provide care for a sick family member
(Unemployment Insurance Code §3300-3306).
AB 2886 (Committee on Insurance)
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Establishes the California Unemployment Insurance
Appeals Board (CUIAB) to hear the appeals of Unemployment
Insurance (UI), SDI, and PFL determinations made by the
Employment Development Department (EDD) (Unemployment
Insurance Code §401-413, §1221-1224 and California Code of
Regulations Title 22, Division 1, Subdivision 2).
Requires SDI and PFL appeals to be filed within 20 days
of the claimant or employer receiving notice of EDD's
determination (Unemployment Insurance Code §2707.2, 2707.4,
2737).
This Bill
Extends the window to appeal a determination of SDI or
PFL benefits from 20 to 30 days, effective March 1, 2018.
Specifies the window to appeal the decision of an
administrative law judge regarding SDI or PFL benefits to
the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board (CUIAB)
to be 30 days.
Provides that, until March 1, 2018, any person who
appeals a determination of SDI or PFL benefits within 30
days will be deemed to have good cause to submit the appeal
after the 20-day deadline has passed. This facilitates the
transition to the new requirement by effectively making the
appeals window 30 days until the change takes full effect
in statute.
COMMENTS
1. Need for this bill?
SB 1314, Monning, (Statutes of 2014, Chapter 399) extended the
window for UI appeals from 20 to 30 days. The CUIAB hears
appeals for all three programs (UI, SDI, and PFL) yet the
author believes that having different appeals windows for the
distinct programs adds administrative complexity. The author
states that this bill will simplify CUIAB operations by
establishing a single unified standard for timely appeals
across all three programs. The bill delays implementation of
this change until March 1, 2018 to allow EDD and CUIAB time to
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make the required changes to their computer systems. However,
the author further states that the bill effectively implements
the 30-day rule as of January 1, 2017 by providing that
appeals filed within 30 days have "good cause" to have been
filed late. According to the author, this will allow these
appeals to be filed during this window without repercussions.
2. Proponent Arguments :
The Employment Development Department states that AB 2886
would bring the SDI and PFL appeals timeframes into
consistency with the State's UI program. An estimated 17.9
million workers are covered by the SDI and PFL programs. This
bill will provide more days for claimants to submit appeals
under a unified system and thus take advantage of their
due-process protections under these programs. This allows
claimants to provide additional information or clarification
that may demonstrate their eligibility for these benefits. AB
2886 will ensure consistency across the concerned programs,
reduce confusion, and decrease the administrative burden
associated with the current varying appeals times. Finally,
proponents state that this bill will ensure immediate access
for claimants to the 30-day filing timeframe for appeals while
EDD makes the necessary programing changes and administrative
updates associated with this shift.
3. Opponent Arguments :
None received.
4. Prior Legislation :
SB 1314 (Monning), Statutes of 2014, Chapter 399 - extended
the window for UI appeals to the CUIAB from 20 to 30 days.
SUPPORT
Employment Development Department
OPPOSITION
None on file.
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