Summary
Existing law provides for unemployment compensation benefits for eligible individuals in the state who are unemployed through no fault of their own. Existing law requires an employer, as defined, to make contributions for unemployment insurance premiums and to file specified reports with the Director of Employment Development, including, among other reports, a report of contributions, a quarterly return, and a report of wages paid, as specified. This bill would require the Employment Development Department to work with employers to enhance the reporting of employment and earning data, as specified, and, where feasible, to align and streamline definitions and requirements for the report of wages, deploy user-friendly application programming interfaces, and implement other means to simplify reporting processes. The bill would require, beginning July 1, 2027, every employer with 10 or more employees and every individual or organization that, as an agent, reports wages on behalf of one or more employers with 10 or more employees, as specified, to include in the report of wages, information on total monthly wage, industry, occupation, worker type, and hours worked for each employee, as provided. This bill would require the department, on or before July 1, 2027, to adopt and develop appropriate procedures for the sharing of hours worked and other necessary employment data to support employment-related verifications for initial eligibility for, and ongoing receipt of, public benefits, and to enable access to relevant wage data, as specified. The bill would require the department to work with the California Statewide Automated Welfare System (CalSAWS) to develop and implement the necessary system changes to implement the data sharing process to verify hours worked for those public benefits. The bill would also require or authorize the department to work with other specified state agencies relating to reporting requirements on workforce and employment. This bill would require the department to use existing federal and state grant funds to the extent available and to implement the bill's provisions on or before July 1, 2027, except that, the bill would require the department to begin the data sharing process to verify hours worked for the public benefits, as described above, on January 1, 2028, or when the department notifies the Legislature that CalSAWS can perform the necessary automation to implement the data sharing process, whichever is later. Under existing law, the information obtained in the administration of the Unemployment Insurance Code is for the exclusive use and information of the Director of Employment Development in the discharge of their duties and is not open to the public. However, existing law requires the director to permit the use of the information for specified purposes, including to enable governmental agencies to verify or determine eligibility for public social services. Existing law provides that a person who knowingly accesses, uses, or discloses this confidential information without authorization is guilty of a misdemeanor. This bill would also require the director, on or before January 1, 2028, to enable the State Department of Social Services and the State Department of Health Care Services to access hours worked and other necessary employment data to support employment-related verifications for initial eligibility for, and ongoing receipt of, public benefits, as prescribed. The bill would further require the director, on or before January 1, 2028, to enable the Office of the California Education Interagency Council to access any relevant wage data necessary for the council's specified purposes. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
