BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 2886 (Committee on Insurance) - Disability benefits:
eligibility determinations: benefit computations: overpayment
determinations: appeals
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|Version: March 29, 2016 |Policy Vote: L. & I.R. 4 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: August 1, 2016 |Consultant: Robert Ingenito |
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This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 2886 would extend the California Unemployment
Insurance Appeals Board appeals window for State Disability
Insurance and Paid Family Leave benefits from 20 to 30 days.
Fiscal
Impact:
The Employment Development Department (EDD) would incur
costs of $100,000 per year over three years to update and
test information technology systems (Unemployment
Compensation Disability Fund). Costs related to changes to
publications and procedures would be minor and absorbable.
The California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board
AB 2886 (Committee on Insurance)
Page 1 of ?
(Appeals Board) would incur minor and absorbable costs to
update policies and procedures.
Background: Current law establishes (1) 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, (2) 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, and (3) the
California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board (CUIAB) to hear
the appeals of Unemployment Insurance (UI), SDI, and PFL
determinations made by EDD. Additionally, current law requires
SDI and PFL appeals to be filed within 20 days of the claimant
or employer receiving notice of EDD's determination.
Proposed Law:
This bill would do the following:
Extend the window to appeal a determination of SDI or
PFL benefits from 20 to 30 days, effective March 1, 2018.
Specify the window to appeal the decision of an
administrative law judge regarding SDI or PFL benefits to
CUIAB to be 30 days.
Provide 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.
AB 2886 (Committee on Insurance)
Page 2 of ?
Staff
Comments: SB 1314 (Monning, Chapter 399, Statutes of 2014)
extended the window for UI appeals from 20-30 days. As noted
previously, CUAIB hears appeals for three programs (UI, SDI, and
PFL), and having different appeals windows for each adds
administrative complexity. This bill would establish a single
standard for timely appeals across all three programs, and would
delay implementation of this change until March 1, 2018, to
allow EDD and CUIAB time to make the required changes to their
computer systems.
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