AB 399: 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.