(a) Employer contributions required under Sections 976 and 976.6, the amount of benefits received by any individual pursuant to this part that is deducted from an award or settlement made by the employer under Section 1382, and, except as provided by subdivision (b), worker contributions required under Section 984 are due and payable on the first day of the calendar month following the close of each calendar quarter and shall become delinquent if not paid on or before the last day of that month.

(b) Worker contributions required under Section 984 are due and payable at the same time and by the same method as amounts required to be withheld under Section 13020 are paid to the department pursuant to Section 13021, regardless of the amount of accumulated unpaid liability for worker contributions.

(c) Employer contributions submitted pursuant to Section 976.5 shall be paid on or before the last working day of March of the calendar year to which the reduced contribution rate would be applicable. Any employer whose eligibility for an unemployment insurance contribution rate determination is redetermined to make that employer eligible to submit voluntary unemployment insurance contributions in accordance with Section 976.5, may submit a voluntary unemployment insurance contribution within 30 days of the date of notification of the redetermination.

(d) Except as provided in subdivision (e), any employer described in Sections 682 and 684 may elect to report and pay employer contributions required under Sections 976 and 976.6, and worker contributions required under Section 984, annually. All contributions are due and payable on the first day of January following the close of the prior calendar year and shall become delinquent if not paid on or before the last day of that month. An election under this subdivision shall be effective the first day of the calendar year in which it is approved by the department. An election under this subdivision may not be approved if the employer has an outstanding return or report delinquency on the records of the department, or an unpaid amount owed to the department, that is not the subject of a timely petition for reassessment pending before the appeals board at the time the election is filed.

(e) An employer described in Sections 682 and 684 who pays more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) in wages annually, shall not be entitled to the election allowed in subdivision (d). If at any time during the year the total wages paid by an employer electing to file under subdivision (d) exceeds twenty thousand dollars ($20,000), the election shall be terminated at the close of that calendar quarter. In addition to the report of wages due for that quarter, the employer shall file a return and pay any contributions due for that portion of the year during which the election was in effect, and shall pay contributions in accordance with subdivisions (a), (b), and (c) for the remainder of that year.

(f) Contributions due pursuant to this section may be submitted by electronic funds transfer. Contributions submitted by electronic funds transfer shall be deemed complete in accordance with paragraph (4) of subdivision (e) of Section 13021.

(g) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (f), effective on and after January 1, 2017, an employer with 10 or more employees shall remit the contributions and withholdings by electronic funds transfer.

(2) Notwithstanding subdivision (f), effective on and after January 1, 2018, all employers shall remit the contributions and withholdings by electronic funds transfer.

(3) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2), an employer may request a waiver from the electronic funds transfer requirement of this subdivision. The department may grant the waiver when the employer has established to the satisfaction of the director that there is a lack of automation, a severe economic hardship, a current exemption from filing electronically for federal purposes, or other good cause. An approved waiver shall be valid for one year or longer, at the discretion of the director.

(h) For purposes of this section, “electronic funds transfer” shall have the same meaning as in Section 13021.5.

(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 561, Sec. 248. (AB 1516) Effective January 1, 2018.)