(a) (1) Each worker shall pay worker contributions at the rate determined by the director pursuant to this section with respect to wages, as defined by Sections 926, 927, and 985. On or before October 31 of each calendar year, the director shall prepare a statement, which shall be a public record, declaring the rate of worker contributions for the calendar year and shall notify promptly all employers of employees covered for disability insurance of the rate.

(2) (A) Except as provided in paragraph (3), the rate of worker contributions for calendar year 1987 and for each subsequent calendar year shall be 1.30 times the amount disbursed from the Disability Fund during the 12-month period ending September 30 and immediately preceding the calendar year for which the rate is to be effective, less the amount in the Disability Fund on that September 30, with the resulting figure divided by total wages paid pursuant to Sections 926, 927, and 985 during the same 12-month period, and then rounded to the nearest one-tenth of 1 percent.

(B) The director shall increase the rate of worker contributions by .08 percent for the 2004 and 2005 calendar years to cover the initial cost of family temporary disability insurance benefits provided in Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 3300) of Part 2.

(3) The rate of worker contributions shall not exceed 1.5 percent or be less than 0.1 percent. The rate of worker contributions shall not decrease from the rate in the previous year by more than two-tenths of 1 percent.

(b) Worker contributions required under Sections 708 and 708.5 shall be at a rate determined by the director to reimburse the Disability Fund for unemployment compensation disability benefits paid and estimated to be paid to all employers and self-employed individuals covered by those sections. On or before November 30th of each calendar year, the director shall prepare a statement, which shall be a public record, declaring the rate of contributions for the succeeding calendar year for all employers and self-employed individuals covered under Sections 708 and 708.5 and shall notify promptly the employers and self-employed individuals of the rate. The rate shall be determined by dividing the estimated benefits and administrative costs paid in the prior year by the product of the annual remuneration deemed to have been received under Sections 708 and 708.5 and the estimated number of persons who were covered at any time in the prior year. The resulting rate shall be rounded to the next higher one-hundredth percentage point. The rate may also be reduced or increased by a factor estimated to maintain as nearly as practicable a cumulative zero balance in the funds contributed pursuant to Sections 708 and 708.5. Estimates made pursuant to this subdivision may be made on the basis of statistical sampling, or another method determined by the director.

(c) The director’s action in determining a rate under this section shall not constitute an authorized regulation.

(d) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), and except as provided in paragraph (2), the director may, at the director’s discretion, increase or decrease, by not to exceed 0.1 percent, the rate of worker contributions determined pursuant to subdivision (a), up to a maximum worker contribution rate of 1.5 percent, if the director determines the adjustment is necessary to reimburse the Disability Fund for disability benefits paid or estimated to be paid to individuals covered by this section or to prevent the accumulation of funds in excess of those needed to maintain an adequate fund balance.

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), for the 2004, 2005, and 2006 calendar years, the director may not decrease the rate of worker contributions, regardless of whether the director determines that a decrease is necessary to prevent the accumulation of funds in excess of those needed to maintain the adequacy of the Disability Fund during program implementation.

(e) The amendment to this section by the act adding this subdivision shall become operative on July 1, 2019.

(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 24, Sec. 35. (SB 83) Effective June 27, 2019. Section operative July 1, 2019, by its own provisions.)