BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
Mark DeSaulnier, Chair
Date of Hearing: June 23, 2010 2009-2010 Regular
Session
Consultant: Gideon L. Baum Fiscal:Yes
Urgency: No
Bill No: AB 2364
Author: Nava
Version: As Introduced February 19, 2010
SUBJECT
Unemployment insurance: benefits: good cause to leave work.
KEY ISSUE
Should the Legislature permit EDD to award Unemployment
Insurance benefits to workers who leave their jobs to protect
family members from domestic violence?
PURPOSE
To ensure that California meets federal standards to receive
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds and make
technical amendments to the Unemployment Insurance Code.
ANALYSIS
Existing federal and state law establishes an Unemployment
Insurance (UI) program that is a federal-state partnership to
provide partial wage replacement benefits to people who are
unemployed through no fault of their own.
Existing federal law in the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009 (ARRA) provides additional funding to states for
purposes of paying UI benefits and modernizing UI programs, but
conditions that funding on the adoption by a state of certain
requirements, including a domestic violence "good cause"
exception for voluntary resignations.
Existing state law establishes an "alternative base period"
(ABP) method for calculating eligibility for UI benefits to
which certain claimants are entitled.
Existing state law provides that a person who resigns to protect
himself or herself or his or her children from domestic violence
remains eligible for UI benefits. This resignation is defined
as a "good cause" resignation and is not charged against the
employer's UI account.
Existing state law requires that an un-cashed warrant drawn from
the Unemployment Fund, Unemployment Administration Fund, or
Disability Fund reverts to the fund after 3 years.
Existing state law references a "leisure sharing" program to be
administered by the Employment Development Department (EDD).
This bill would:
1) Broaden the definition of a "good cause" exception due
to domestic violence to include a worker who resigns to
protect his or her family from domestic violence.
2) Require that the EDD notifies a UI claimant of which
method of calculation was used to determine eligibility for
UI benefits.
3) Clarify that a UI claim may be cancelled if all of the
following apply:
a) The individual has not been deemed ineligible
for unemployment compensation benefits;
b) The individual has not been overpaid
unemployment compensation benefits; and
c) The individual has not collected unemployment
compensation benefits.
1) Reduce the time period that an un-cashed warrant drawn
from the Unemployment Fund, Unemployment Administration
Fund, or Disability Fund reverts to the fund to 1 year.
2) Repeal the statutory reference to the "leisure sharing"
Hearing Date: June 23, 2010 AB 2364
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Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
program.
COMMENTS
1. Need for this bill?
In 2009, Congress passed and President Obama signed the
American Reinvestment and Recovery Act as part of the larger
stimulus package to combat the economic recession. The ARRA
offered states a portion of $7 billion to modernize their
unemployment insurance benefit programs, but required the
states also include certain reforms, starting with the
adoption of an alternative base period (ABP) when calculating
benefits. Once the ABP was adopted, the state needed to adopt
two other reforms in order to be eligible for all of the
available UI modernization funds.
Under the ARRA, California is eligible for approximately $839
million. Since California adopted ABP with the passage of
ABX3 29 (Coto) last year, EDD is focusing on ensuring that the
additional reforms are in place in order to apply for the ARRA
funds by August of 2011. Without those additional reforms,
California will only receive one-third ($280 million) of
available ARRA funds.
The federal Department of Labor (DOL) recently notified EDD
that while California currently has a "good cause" exception
for victims of domestic violence to receive UI benefits in the
event of a voluntary resignation, the exception is too
proscriptive, as the ARRA requires that the "good cause"
exemption extends to, at a minimum, to the victim's immediate
family. This bill would broaden the existing exception in
order to meet federal requirements, ensuring California will
receive all available ARRA funds.
This bill also makes minor, technical changes to law in order
to clarify existing law. Those changes include clarifying the
circumstances of when an individual may withdraw a UI claim;
removing reference to the "Leisure Sharing" program, which
hasn't been funded in more than 25 years; and conforming UI
Code provisions on the length of time an un-cashed UI or DI
Hearing Date: June 23, 2010 AB 2364
Consultant: Gideon L. Baum Page 3
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
warrant can be outstanding to Government Code provisions.
2. "Immediate Family" versus "Family":
As was discussed earlier, the ARRA requires that the domestic
violence "good cause" exemption extend to, at a minimum, the
victim's "immediate family". This would include the spouse,
parents, and minor children only. DOL circulars suggest that
states consider also including other groups, such as foster
children, step children, and grandparents.
The language in this would extend the domestic violence "good
cause" exemption to a wider group of family members than is
required by federal law. This would include registered
domestic partners, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, son
or daughter-in-law, step children, foster children, and any
guardian or person with whom the claimant has assumed
reciprocal rights, duties, and liabilities of a parent-child
or grandparent-grandchild relationship.
3. Proponent Arguments :
Supporters note that one of the main reasons victims stay with
or return to abusers is due to an inability to afford to
leave. Supporters further note that the California family is
changing - according to a 2008 AARP study, 6.2 million
multi-generational households in America, and supporters note
that this number has probably only increased due to the
recession. Supporters argue workers who resign to protect a
grandchild or a parent from an abuser do not lack less of a
"good cause" than workers resigning to protect a child.
Finally, supporters note that, without this legislation,
California stands to lose hundreds of millions of dollars
necessary for the modernization of our UI program.
4. Opponent Arguments :
None on file.
5. Prior Legislation :
ABX3 29 (Coto), Statutes of 2009, Chapter 23, created the
Hearing Date: June 23, 2010 AB 2364
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Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
alternative base period of California's UI program.
SUPPORT
California Commission on the Status of Women
California Labor Federation
California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing
Committee
National Association of Social Workers - California Chapter
OPPOSITION
None on file.
* * *
Hearing Date: June 23, 2010 AB 2364
Consultant: Gideon L. Baum Page 5
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations