Unemployment insurance.

Existing unemployment insurance law requires all standard information employee pamphlets provided by the Employment Development Department concerning unemployment and disability insurance programs to be printed in English and separately in Spanish, or both. This bill would instead require those pamphlets to be printed in English and the 7 other most commonly used languages among participants in each program. This bill would require the department to make pages on its Internet Web site that provide information regarding applying for, and receiving, unemployment insurance benefits available in the 7 languages, other than English, most commonly used by unemployment insurance applicants and claimants. Existing unemployment insurance law requires the Employment Development Department to pay unemployment compensation benefits to unemployed individuals meeting specified requirements. This bill would require the Director of Employment Development to periodically review policies and practices used to determine eligibility for and the amount of benefits in the unemployment insurance program, as specified, and report to the Legislature the results of the first review on or before July 1, 2015. Existing law prohibits an unemployed individual from being disqualified for benefits solely on the basis that he or she is a student. This bill would prohibit an unemployed individual who is meeting specified requirements and is certifying for continued unemployment compensation from being scheduled for a determination of eligibility for a week in which the individual commenced or is participating in a training or education program and has notified the Employment Development Department of the training or education program. This bill would permit the department to schedule and conduct a determination of eligibility if the department determines that the commencement of, or the ongoing participation in, a training or education program conflicts with the eligibility requirements for unemployment compensation. Because this bill would make changes to existing eligibility requirements for unemployment compensation benefits that would result in additional amounts being payable from the Unemployment Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation. Existing law requires claims for unemployment compensation to be made in accordance with authorized regulations of the director. This bill would require a continued claim for unemployment benefits to be submitted within a specified period. It would also prohibit an unemployed individual from being disqualified for unemployment compensation benefits solely on the basis that the continued claim was submitted within a specified period.