BILL NUMBER: AB 399	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Ridley-Thomas

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2015

   An act to amend Section 1253.3 of, and to repeal Sections 1451,
1452, and 1453 of, the Unemployment Insurance Code, relating to
unemployment insurance, and making an appropriation therefor.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 399, as introduced, Ridley-Thomas. Unemployment insurance:
classified employees.
   Existing law provides for the payment of unemployment compensation
benefits and extended duration benefits to eligible persons who meet
specified requirements. Existing law prohibits the payment of
unemployment benefits to education employees of a public entity, as
defined, including teachers, researchers, and administrators for the
period between 2 academic years when there is a reasonable assurance
that the employee will perform his or her regular services in the
subsequent academic year, except as specified. Existing law similarly
prohibits the payment of unemployment benefits to specified
education employees of a public entity, other than teachers,
researchers, or administrators between 2 academic years, except as
specified, but provides a procedure for this 2nd category of
educational employees, under certain conditions, to seek payment of
retroactive unemployment benefits for the period between 2 academic
years. Existing law requires specified notice regarding reasonable
assurance of employment in the following academic term be sent to
employees before the end of the current academic term. Existing law
also authorizes payment of unemployment insurance benefits, using
funds from the State Department of Education, to the 2nd category of
educational employees at specified schools between academic terms in
circumstances where benefits would otherwise be denied.
   This bill would delete the prohibition on the payment of
unemployment benefits to education employees of a public school,
other than teachers, researchers, and administrators, as specified,
between 2 academic years. The bill would phase in up to 8 weeks of
benefits available to those specified employees over a 4-year
timeframe and would make conforming changes, including eliminating
the provisions for payment of unemployment benefits to these
employees at the specified schools.
   Because this bill would expand the categories of people who could
receive benefits from the Unemployment Insurance Fund, a continuously
appropriated fund, it would make an appropriation.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 1253.3 of the Unemployment Insurance Code is
amended to read:
   1253.3.  (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this division,
unemployment compensation benefits, extended duration benefits, and
federal-state extended benefits are payable on the basis of service
to which Section 3309(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code  of
1954  applies, in the same amount, on the same terms, and
subject to the same conditions as benefits payable on the basis of
other service subject to this division, except as provided by this
section.
   (b)  (1)    Benefits specified by subdivision
(a) based on service performed in the employ of a nonprofit
organization, or of any entity as defined by Section 605,  except
for a public school as defined in Section 22161 of the Education
Code,  with respect to service in an instructional, research, or
principal administrative capacity for an educational institution are
not payable to any individual with respect to any week which begins
during the period between two successive academic years or terms or,
when an agreement provides instead for a similar period between two
regular but not successive terms, during that period, or during a
period of paid sabbatical leave provided for in the individual's
contract, if the individual performs services in the first of the
academic years or terms and if there is a contract or a reasonable
assurance that the individual will perform services for any
educational institution in the second of the academic years or terms.

   (2) Benefits specified by subdivision (a) are authorized for an
employee of a public school, as referenced in paragraph (1), as
follows:  
   (A) Two weeks of benefits during 2016 beginning July 1.  

   (B) Four weeks of benefits during 2017 beginning July 1. 

   (C) Six weeks of benefits during 2018 beginning July 1.  

   (D) Eight weeks of benefits during 2019 and each year thereafter
beginning July 1. 
   (c) Benefits specified by subdivision (a) based on service
performed in the employ of a nonprofit organization, or of any entity
as defined by Section 605, with respect to service in any other
capacity than specified in subdivision (b) for an educational
institution shall not be payable to any individual with respect to
any week which commences during a period between two successive
academic years or terms if the individual performs the service in the
first of the academic years or terms and there is a reasonable
assurance that the individual will perform the service in the second
of the academic years or terms. However, if the individual was not
offered an opportunity to perform the services for an educational
institution for the second of the academic years or terms, the
individual shall be entitled to a retroactive payment of benefits for
each week for which the individual filed a timely claim for benefits
and for which benefits were denied solely by reason of this
subdivision. Retroactive benefits shall be claimed in accordance with
the department's procedures which shall specify that except where
the individual was entitled to benefits based on services performed
for other than an educational institution, an individual who has a
reasonable assurance of reemployment may satisfy the search for work
requirement of subdivision (e) of Section 1253, by registering for
work pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 1253 during the period
between the first and second academic terms or years. A claim for
retroactive benefits may be made no later than 30 days following the
commencement of the second academic year or term.
   (d) Benefits specified by subdivision (a) based on service
performed in the employ of a nonprofit organization, or of any entity
as defined by Section 605, with respect to services specified by
subdivision (b) or (c), are not payable to any individual with
respect to any week that commences during an established and
customary vacation period or holiday recess if the individual
performs the  specified  services in the  period
  week  immediately before the vacation period or
holiday recess, and there is a reasonable assurance that the
individual will perform the services in the period immediately
following the vacation period or holiday recess.
   (e) With respect to any services specified by subdivision (b) or
(c), compensation payable on the basis of services in that capacity
may be denied as specified in subdivision (b), (c), or (d) to any
individual who performed the services in an educational institution
while in the employ of an educational service agency, and for this
purpose the term "educational service agency"  means
  is defined as  a governmental agency or
governmental entity that is established and operated exclusively for
the purpose of providing the services to one or more educational
institutions.
   (f) Benefits specified by subdivision (a) based on service
performed in the employ of a nonprofit organization, or of any entity
as defined by Section 605, are not payable during the periods of
time, and subject to the same conditions, contained in subdivisions
(b), (c), (d), and (h), if the services are provided to, or on behalf
of, an educational institution.
   (g) For purposes of this section, "reasonable assurance" includes,
but is not limited to, an offer of employment or assignment made by
the educational institution, provided that the offer or assignment is
not contingent on enrollment, funding, or program changes. An
individual who has been notified that he or she will be replaced and
does not have an offer of employment or assignment to perform
services for an educational institution is not considered to have
reasonable assurance.
   (h) For purposes of this section, if the time for service
performed during the period of and pursuant to any contract for any
academic year or term by an individual for any employing unit as
specified in subdivision (b) or (c) constitutes one-half or more of
the time in total service performed for the employing unit by the
individual during that same period for remuneration, all the services
of the individual for the employing unit for that period shall be
deemed subject to the benefit payment restriction provisions of this
section.
   (i) Any entity as defined by Section 605, with respect to any
individual performing a service in any other capacity other than
specified in subdivision (b) for an educational institution, shall
provide a written statement indicating the following to the
individual no later than 30 days before the end of the first of the
academic years or terms:
   (1) Whether or not there is a reasonable assurance of
reemployment.
   (2) Whether or not it is stated that the individual has no
reasonable assurance of reemployment, that the individual should file
a claim for benefits at the close of the academic year or term.
   (3) If it is stated that the individual has reasonable assurance
of reemployment, the written statement shall also inform the employee
that he or she may file a claim for benefits and that the
determination for eligibility for benefits is made by the Employment
Development Department and not by the employer.
   (4) If it is stated that the individual has reasonable assurance
of reemployment, that the individual shall be entitled to a
retroactive payment of benefits if the individual is not offered an
opportunity to perform the services for the educational institution
for the second of the academic years or terms, if the individual is
otherwise eligible and he or she filed a claim for each week benefits
are claimed, and if a claim for retroactive benefits is made no
later than 30 days following the commencement of the second academic
year or term.
  SEC. 2.  Section 1451 of the Unemployment Insurance Code is
repealed. 
   1451.  Nonprofessional employees of the Fremont and Riverside
campuses of the California School for the Deaf, the Fremont campus of
the California School for the Blind, and the diagnostic schools for
individuals with neurological disabilities located in Los Angeles,
San Francisco, and Fresno, shall be eligible for benefits provided by
this chapter, on the same terms and conditions as are specified by
this part, Part 3 (commencing with Section 3501), and Part 4
(commencing with Section 4001), for all other individuals, except
where inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter. Except where
inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter, the provisions of
this division and authorized regulations shall apply to any matter
arising pursuant to this chapter. 
  SEC. 3.  Section 1452 of the Unemployment Insurance Code is
repealed. 
   1452.  Notwithstanding Section 1253.3, between terms unemployment
compensation benefits are payable by the Controller, from funds
appropriated for support of the State Department of Education and
allocated to the state special schools, upon authorization by the
Employment Development Department to individuals who are eligible to
receive these benefits under this chapter. These benefits shall only
be paid for weeks of unemployment occurring between school terms and
during an established and customary vacation period or holiday recess
when other benefits are denied solely by reason of Section 1253.3.

  SEC. 4.  Section 1453 of the Unemployment Insurance Code is
repealed. 
   1453.  (a) There shall be transferred to the Employment
Development Department from funds appropriated for support of the
State Department of Education and allocated to the state special
schools, at the times and in the manner provided in subdivision (b),
an amount equal to the additional cost to the Employment Development
Department for added administrative work arising out of this chapter.

   (b) The director shall determine the sums he or she estimates the
department will be entitled to receive from the State Department of
Education under this section for each fiscal year, reduced or
increased by any sum by which he or she finds that his or her
estimates for any prior fiscal year were greater or less than the
amounts which were actually required. The sum of the amounts
transferred or expended pursuant to Section 1452, subdivision (a),
and this subdivision in any one fiscal year shall not exceed the
amount appropriated in the then current fiscal year to the State
Department of Education for the purposes of this chapter.
   (c) The director may require from the State Department of
Education such employment, wage, financial, statistical, or other
information and reports, properly verified, as may be deemed
necessary by the director to carry out his or her duties under this
division, which shall be filed with the director at the time and in
the manner prescribed by him or her.
   (d) The director may tabulate and publish information obtained
pursuant to this chapter in statistical form and may divulge the name
of the employing unit.
   (e) The State Department of Education shall provide each employee
subject to this chapter, at the end of each school term, with written
information advising the employee of benefit rights pursuant to this
chapter.