BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2886|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2886
Author: Committee on Insurance
Amended: 3/29/16 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE LABOR & IND. REL. COMMITTEE: 4-0, 6/8/16
AYES: Mendoza, Stone, Leno, Mitchell
NO VOTE RECORDED: Jackson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/1/16
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 4/21/16 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Disability benefits: eligibility determinations:
benefit computations: overpayment determinations:
appeals
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill extends 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:
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1)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).
2)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).
3)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).
4)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:
1)Extends the window to appeal a determination of SDI or PFL
benefits from 20 to 30 days, effective March 1, 2018.
2)Specifies the window to appeal the decision of an
administrative law judge regarding SDI or PFL benefits to the
CUIAB to be 30 days.
3)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
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the new requirement by effectively making the appeals window
30 days until the change takes full effect in statute.
Background
SB 1314 (Monning, Chapter 399, Statutes of 2014) 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. This bill delays implementation of this change until
March 1, 2018, to allow EDD and CUIAB time to make the required
changes to their computer systems. However, the author further
states that this 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.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
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.
CUIAB would incur minor and absorbable costs to update
policies and procedures.
SUPPORT: (Verified8/3/16)
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California Employment Development Department
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/3/16)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The Employment Development Department
states that AB 2886 brings 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.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 4/21/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,
Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,
Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth
Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto,
Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper,
Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim,
Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis,
Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte,
O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Rodriguez, Salas,
Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Ridley-Thomas
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Prepared by:Brandon Seto / L. & I.R. / (916) 651-1556
8/3/16 19:11:08
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