BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 667 Page 1 SENATE THIRD READING SB 667 (Jackson) As Amended May 18, 2015 Majority vote SENATE VOTE: 38-0 ------------------------------------------------------------------ |Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------| |Insurance |13-0 |Daly, Beth Gaines, | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Travis Allen, | | | | |Calderon, Cooley, | | | | |Cooper, Dababneh, | | | | |Frazier, Gatto, | | | | |Gonzalez, Grove, | | | | |Mayes, Rodriguez | | | | | | | |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------| |Appropriations |17-0 |Gomez, Bigelow, | | | | |Bloom, Bonta, | | | | |Calderon, Chang, | | | | |Nazarian, Eggman, | | | | |Gallagher, Eduardo | | | | |Garcia, Holden, | | SB 667 Page 2 | | |Jones, Quirk, Rendon, | | | | |Wagner, Weber, Wood | | | | | | | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------ SUMMARY: Extends the duration of the "disability benefit period" from 14 days to 60 days so that fewer claimants with ongoing or recurring conditions have to face a new seven-day waiting period for each absence from work, and requires the Employment Development Department (EDD) to report on the impact of this change by January 1, 2020. EXISTING LAW: 1)Establishes the State Disability Program (SDI) program which provides partial wage-replacement benefits for eligible workers temporarily unable to work due to a non-work related injury, illness, or condition. 2)Requires a seven-day waiting period, during which no benefits are paid, before the claimant receives SDI benefits. 3)Defines "disability benefit period" as the continuous period of unemployment and disability beginning with the first day for which the individual files a valid claim for disability benefits. 4)Provides that if an individual experiences two consecutive periods of disability due to the same or related cause or condition, separated by a period of not more than 14 days, then they are considered as one disability benefit period. SB 667 Page 3 FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, estimated $60,000 for implementation costs by EDD and unknown, likely minor, additional benefit costs to the Disability Insurance Fund. COMMENTS: 1)Purpose. According to the author, this bill ensures that the SDI system better serves the needs of employees managing chronic health conditions. An employee who returns to work after a period of disability in which they served the 7-day waiting period before drawing SDI benefits, shouldn't have to serve another 7-day waiting period if they must leave work again within a two month period. The author argues that the unpaid waiting period places an unnecessary hardship on workers managing a chronic health condition and discourages employees from returning to work as soon as, and for as long as, possible. This bill is a common sense reform that will give workers with serious health issues better access to much needed SDI benefits. The author argues that this second waiting period significantly disadvantages employees who are managing a chronic illness or injury, like chronic debilitating back pain or those who have returned to work after initial cancer treatment, but must have chemotherapy treatments every three weeks. This bill addresses this problem by extending from two weeks to 60 days the period of time under which an employee can reopen an SDI claim without having to suffer a new 7-consecutive day waiting period of wage loss. 2)Background. Under the SDI program, an employee must serve a waiting period of seven consecutive days of wage loss prior to receiving benefits. If an employee returns to work after a period of temporary disability for more than 2 weeks before experiencing a reoccurrence of the same condition they must SB 667 Page 4 re-serve the seven consecutive day waiting period before being eligible for additional benefits. According to the EDD, in 2014 there were a total of 699,486 SDI claims filed of which 5,853 were from individuals who filed multiple claims for the same condition. Analysis Prepared by: Paul Riches / INS. / (916) 319-2086 FN: 0001708