(a) The Director of Employment Development may terminate any voluntary plan if the director finds that there is danger that the benefits accrued or to accrue will not be paid, that the security for the payment is insufficient, or for other good cause shown. The Director of Employment Development shall give notice of his or her intention to terminate a plan to the employer, employee group, and insurer. The notice shall state the effective date and the reason for the withdrawal. The Director of Employment Development may change or stay the effective date of the termination.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 3260.5, on the effective date of the termination of a plan by the Director of Employment Development, all moneys in the plan, including moneys paid by the employer, moneys paid by the employee, moneys owed to the voluntary plan by the employer but not yet paid to the plan, and any interest accrued on all these moneys, shall be remitted to the department and deposited into the Disability Fund.
(c) If an employer fails to remit all moneys owed to the Disability Fund after termination of the plan, the Director of Employment Development shall make an assessment against the employer equal to the amount of the moneys owed. The Director of Employment Development shall also make an assessment against the employer for all benefits paid from the Disability Fund after the termination of the plan, less any moneys received from the employer after the termination of the plan.
(d) The provisions of Article 8 (commencing with Section 1126) of Chapter 4 of Part 1, with respect to the assessment of moneys, and the provisions of Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 1701) of Part 1, with respect to the collection of moneys owed, shall apply to assessments authorized under this section, except that interest may not accrue until 30 days after issuance of the notice of assessment.
(e) The employer, employee group or insurer may, within 10 days from mailing or personal service of the notice, appeal to the Appeals Board. The 10-day period may be extended for good cause. The Appeals Board may prescribe by regulation the time, manner, method and procedure through which it may determine appeals under this section.
(f) The payment of benefits from the Disability Fund and the transfer of moneys in the voluntary plan may not be delayed during an employer’s appeal of the termination of a voluntary plan.
(Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 52, Sec. 7. Effective January 1, 2003.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018