BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2055
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2055 (De La Torre)
As Amended August 16, 2010
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |48-26|(June 2, 2010) |SENATE: |23-12|(August 23, |
| | | | | |2010) |
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Original Committee Reference: INS.
SUMMARY : Allows a person who imminently will be in a
registered domestic partnership to become eligible to receive
unemployment insurance (UI) benefits.
The Senate amendments add double-jointing language in order to
avoid a chaptering out problem with AB 2364 (Nava).
EXISTING LAW :
1)Disqualifies a person for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits
if the Director of the Employment Development Department (EDD)
finds that he or she left his or her most recent work
voluntarily without good cause or that he or she has been
discharged for misconduct.
2)Provides that a person may be deemed to have left his or her
most recent work with good cause if he or she leaves
employment to accompany his or her spouse or domestic partner
to a place from which it is impractical to commute to the
employment.
3)Permits an employer who is entitled to receive notice that a
person has filed a claim of regular UI benefits or extended UI
benefits to submit to EDD facts disclosing that the claimant
left employment voluntarily or left due to specified
circumstances. One of the circumstances is that the claimant
left employment to accompany his or her spouse or domestic
partner to join him at a place from which it is impractical to
commute to the employment, to which a transfer of the claimant
by the employer is not available.
4)Provides that if a UI claimant left their employment
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voluntarily or under specified circumstances, then the
benefits paid to the claimant shall not be charged to the
account of the employer. One of these circumstances is that
the claimant left the employer's employ to accompany his or
her spouse or domestic partner to join him at place from which
it is impractical to commute.
5)Defines "spouse" for the above purposes to include a person to
whom marriage is imminent.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Defined "domestic partner" to include a person to whom a
registered domestic partnership is imminent and to be deemed
to have left their work with good cause if he or she
accompanies their intended domestic partner to a place from
which it is impractical to commute.
2)Allowed a person to whom a domestic partnership is imminent,
as defined above, to become eligible to receive UI benefits.
3)Permitted an employer to submit facts to EDD disclosing that
the UI claimant left employment to accompany his or her
imminent domestic partner to join him or her at a place from
which it is impractical to commute.
4)Provided that an employer's account will not be charged for
the UI benefits received by a former employee if the UI
claimant left employment to accompany his or her imminent
domestic partner to join him or her at place from which it is
impractical to commute.
FISCAL EFFECT : Costs of $200,000 to $400,000 from the
Unemployment Fund (employer- financed special fund) for every 25
to 50 people who qualify for 26 weeks of unemployment benefits
pursuant to this bill.
COMMENTS : The purpose of this bill is to preserve the family
unit by providing the same unemployment benefits to imminent
domestic partners that married couples, registered domestic
partners, and persons who will imminently marry, currently
receive.
According to the author and the bill sponsor, Equality
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California, existing law provides that persons who are
unemployed through no fault of their own can receive
unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. UI benefits are available
to an employee when he or she leaves his or her job for good
cause, including when he or she leaves the area to accompany
their spouse or registered domestic partner. As defined in
existing law, the term "spouse" includes individuals/couples
where marriage is imminent. Therefore, soon-to-be married
couples can also receive UI benefits. However, the law does not
cover imminent domestic partners.
Analysis Prepared by : Manny Hernandez / INS. / (916) 319-2086
FN: 0006272