803
. (a) As used in this section, "entity" means an employing unit
that is authorized by Article 4 (commencing with Section 701) or by
Section 801 or 802 to elect a method of financing coverage permitted
by this section.
(b) In lieu of the contributions required of employers, an entity
may elect any one of the following:
(1) To pay into the Unemployment Fund the cost of benefits,
including extended duration benefits and federal-state extended
benefits, paid based on base period wages with respect to employment
for the entity and charged to its account in the manner provided by
Section 1026, pursuant to authorized regulations that shall prescribe
the rate or amount, time, manner, and method of payment or advance
payment or providing a good and sufficient bond to guarantee payment
of contributions.
(2) Two or more entities may, pursuant to authorized regulations,
file an application with the director for the establishment of a
joint account for the purpose of determining the rate of
contributions they shall pay into the Unemployment Fund to reimburse
the fund for benefits paid with respect to employment for those
entities. The members of the joint account may share the cost of
benefits, including extended duration benefits and federal-state
extended benefits, paid based on the base period wages with respect
to employment for those members and charged to the joint account in
the manner provided by Section 1026. The director shall prescribe
authorized regulations for the establishment, maintenance, and
dissolution of joint accounts, and for the rate or amount, time,
manner, and method of payment or advance payment or providing a good
and sufficient bond to guarantee payment of contributions by the
members of joint accounts, on the cost of benefits charged in the
manner provided by Section 1026.
(c) Sections 1030, 1031, 1032, and 1032.5, and any provision of
this division for the noncharging of benefits to the account of an
employer, do not apply to an election under subdivision (b). The cost
of benefits charged to an entity under this section shall include,
but not be limited to, benefits or payments improperly paid in excess
of a weekly benefit amount, or in excess of a maximum benefit
amount, or otherwise in excess of the amount that should have been
paid, due to any computational or other error of any type by the
Employment Development Department or the Department of Benefit
Payments, whether or not the error could be anticipated.
(d) The cost of benefits charged to an entity under this section
shall include credits of benefit overpayments actually collected by
the department, unless the department determines that the payment was
made because the entity, or an agent of the entity, was at fault for
failing to respond timely or adequately to requests of the
department for information relating to the individual claim for
unemployment compensation benefits. The department shall make this
determination when the entity or agent fails to respond timely or
adequately in two instances relating to the individual claim for
unemployment compensation benefits. This subdivision shall apply to
benefit overpayments established on or after October 22, 2013.
(e) In making the payments prescribed by subdivision (b), there
shall be paid or credited to the Unemployment Fund, either in advance
or by way of reimbursement, as may be determined by the director,
any sums he or she estimates the Unemployment Fund will be entitled
to receive from each entity for each calendar quarter, reduced or
increased by any sum by which he or she finds that his or her
estimates for any prior calendar quarter were greater or less than
the amounts which should have been paid to the fund. The estimates
may be made upon the basis of statistical sampling, or any other
method as may be determined by the director.
Upon making that determination, the director shall give notice of
the determination, pursuant to Section 1206, to the entity. The
director may cancel any contributions or portion thereof that he or
she finds has been erroneously determined.
The director shall charge to any special fund, that is responsible
for the salary of any employee of an entity, the amount determined
by the director for which the fund is liable pursuant to this
section. The contributions due from the entity shall be paid from the
liable special fund, the General Fund, or other liable fund to the
Unemployment Fund by the Controller or other officer or person
responsible for disbursements on behalf of the entity within 30 days
of the date of mailing of the director's notice of determination to
the entity. The director for good cause may extend for not to exceed
60 days the time for paying without penalty the amount determined and
required to be paid. Contributions are due upon the date of mailing
of the notice of determination and are delinquent if not paid on or
before the 30th day following the date of mailing of the notice.
(f) An entity that fails to pay the contributions required within
the time required shall be liable for interest on the contributions
at the adjusted annual rate and by the method established pursuant to
Section 19521 of the Revenue and Taxation Code from and after the
date of delinquency until paid, and an entity that without good cause
fails to pay contributions required within the time required shall
pay a penalty of 10 percent of the amount of the contributions. If
the entity fails to pay the contributions required on or before the
delinquency date, the director may assess the entity for the amount
required by the notice of determination. This subdivision does not
apply to employers electing financing under Section 821, for amounts
due after December 31, 1992.
(g) Article 8 (commencing with Section 1126) of Chapter 4 of Part
1, with respect to the assessment of contributions, and Chapter 7
(commencing with Section 1701) of Part 1, with respect to the
collection of contributions, apply to the assessments provided by
this section. Sections 1177 to 1184, inclusive, relating to refunds
and overpayments, apply to amounts paid to the Unemployment Fund
pursuant to this section. Sections 1222, 1223, 1224, 1241, and 1242
apply to matters arising under this section.
(h) (1) The director may terminate the election of an entity for
financing under this section if the entity is delinquent in the
payment of advances or reimbursements required by the director under
this section. After a termination, the entity may again make an
election pursuant to this section, but only if it is not delinquent
in the payment of contributions and not delinquent in the payment of
advances or reimbursements required by the director under this
section.
(2) In the case of an Indian tribe (as described by Section 3306
(u) of Title 26 of the United States Code), the director shall
terminate all elections for the tribe and all subdivisions,
subsidiaries, and business enterprises wholly owned by that tribe if
the tribe or any subdivision, subsidiary, or business enterprise
wholly owned by that tribe is more than 90 days delinquent in the
payment of contributions, bonds, advances, reimbursements, or
applicable penalties or interest required under this code, after
notice to the tribe. After a termination, the Indian tribe may again
make an election pursuant to this section, but only if it is not
delinquent in the payment of contributions, bonds, advances,
reimbursements, or applicable penalties or interest required under
this code.
(i) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an entity
shall not be liable for that portion of any extended duration
benefits or federal-state extended benefits that is reimbursed or
reimbursable by the federal government to the State of California.
(j) After the termination of an election under this section, the
entity shall remain liable for its proportionate share of the cost of
benefits paid and charged to its account in the manner provided by
Section 1026, which are based on wages paid for services during the
period of the election. That liability may be charged against any
remaining balance of a prior reserve account used by the entity
pursuant to Section 712 or 713. Any portion of the remaining balance
shall be included in the reserve account of the entity following a
termination of an election under this section which occurs prior to
the expiration of a period of three consecutive years commencing with
the effective date of the election. For purposes of Section 982, the
period of an election under Section 803 shall, to the extent
permitted by federal law, be included as a period during which a
reserve account has been subject to benefit charges.