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Legislation Update: Governor Signs New Bills On Unemployment Claims And Health Coverage; What You Need To Know

Governor Wilson recently approved two laws, one of which will make it easier for smaller employers to offer health benefits to part-time workers, and the other which changes the unemployment insurance rules to allow benefits to employees who are victims of domestic violence. Both measures take effect on January 1, 1999. Here are the key points.

Health Coverage Available For More Part-Time Workers

Existing law requires that health care service plans and insurers that sell to small employers make coverage available without exclusions based on an employee’s medical condition or history. For purposes of this law, small employers are organizations with 2-50 employees. Until now, only regular (as opposed to temporary) employees who work at least 30 hours a week and satisfy any waiting period requirements have been eligible for coverage.

The new legislation gives you the option of extending health benefits to many part-time employees not covered under the current rules. If you’re a small employer, your insurer or health care service plan must now offer health benefits to regular part-time employees who work between 20 and 29 hours a week.


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These benefits are to be made available on the same basis as they are to employees who work 30 or more hours, provided these conditions are met:

 

  1. The worker meets the definition of an eligible employee. This means the employee must work at your regular place of business, satisfy any waiting-period requirements and be employed on a regular, not temporary or substitute basis.

     

  2. The employee worked for you at least 20 hours per week during at least 50% of the weeks in the previous calendar quarter.

     

  3. You offer health coverage to all part-time employees who meet the above conditions.

Unemployment Benefits For Domestic Violence Victims

Under existing law, employees who quit voluntarily cannot receive unemployment benefits unless they leave for good cause. Examples of good cause include discrimination or harassment, undue risk of industrial injury or illness, or the fact that a spouse is relocating too far away for the employee to commute.

The new law expands the good cause definition to cover domestic violence. Workers who quit to protect themselves or their children from domestic violence will be considered to have left the job with good cause-and will be eligible to collect unemployment benefits.

If you follow certain simple procedures, the benefits paid in such cases won’t be charged against your unemployment insurance account. Within 10 days of receiving notice that an employee has filed for unemployment (or within 15 days of receiving a notice of computation if you weren’t the most recent employer), you must submit facts to the Employment Development Department (EDD) indicating that the employee left in order to seek protection from domestic violence. You’re required to do so even if the person has already told the EDD that this was the reason for their resignation.

 

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