Section 2629.1 - Commencement of payments; notice of entitlement; liability disputed(a) Nothing in Section 2629 shall be construed to authorize the delay of payment of unemployment compensation disability benefits except where the claimant is currently in receipt of other benefits or where the department has received notice that the claimant's employer or insurer has agreed to commence the payment of other benefits.(b) Notwithstanding Section 2701.5, payments shall commence within 14 days after notice to the employer or insurer under this section unless the employer or insurer has either paid or has agreed to commence the payment of other benefits.(c) Upon the filing of a claim for unemployment compensation disability benefits, the department shall make an initial determination as to the claimant's entitlement to other benefits for purposes of Section 2629. (1) The department shall notify the claimant and the claimant's employer if it determines that the claimant is entitled to other benefits.(2) The notice to the claimant shall inform the claimant that disability benefits will be paid pending receipt of other benefits if the employer fails to agree to pay these other benefits within 14 days of notification of industrial injury and shall advise the claimant of the provisions of Section 2629.(3) The department shall also include with the claimant's notice a pamphlet to be provided by the Department of Industrial Relations which meets the criteria specified in subdivision (b) of Section 139.6 of the Labor Code.(4) The notice to the employer shall constitute a claim for compensation and knowledge of an injury for purposes of Section 5402 of the Labor Code, and shall inform the employer of its potential liability for interest and penalties under this section.(d) If the employer or the insurance carrier disputes liability for the payment of other benefits, or the extent thereof, the department's right to reimbursement shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board in accordance with Part 4 (commencing with Section 5300) of Division 4 of the Labor Code.(e) An employer or insurance carrier who subsequently assumes liability or is determined to be liable for reimbursement to the department for unemployment compensation disability benefits which the department has paid in lieu of other benefits shall be assessed for this liability by the department. In addition, the employer shall pay the department interest on the disability benefits at the annual rate provided in Section 19521 of the Revenue and Taxation Code. The employer shall also pay a penalty of 10 percent of the amount reimbursed to the department if the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board finds that the failure of the employer to pay other benefits upon notice by the department under this section was unreasonable and a penalty has not been awarded for the delay under Section 5814 of the Labor Code. All funds received by the department pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the Disability Fund.(f) The employer shall reimburse the department in accordance with subdivision (e) within 60 days of either voluntarily accepting liability for other benefits or after a final award, order, or decision of the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board.Ca. Unemp. Ins. Code § 2629.1
Amended by Stats. 1993, Ch. 877, Sec. 95. Effective October 6, 1993. Operative January 1, 1994, by Sec. 102 of Ch. 877.