(a) The Department of Child Support Services shall periodically notify the department of individuals who are certified, as provided in Section 17518 of the Family Code, as having support obligations, as defined by subdivision (g) and notify the department of any changes in the status of these individuals to ensure that the department has a current record.
(b) Upon receipt of the notifications referred to in subdivision (a), the department shall determine whether the individuals have claims for unemployment compensation disability benefits, either with the department or under an approved voluntary plan.
(c) If the department determines that an individual referred to in subdivision (a) has a claim for unemployment compensation disability benefits with an approved voluntary plan, it shall notify the voluntary plan payer. When the Department of Child Support Services notifies the department of any changes in the individual’s status as to his or her support obligations, the department shall in turn notify the voluntary plan payer. Upon notification from the department, the voluntary plan payer shall deduct and withhold the amounts specified in Section 17518 of the Family Code from the unemployment compensation disability benefits that would otherwise be payable to the individual. For each withholding, the voluntary plan payer shall deduct an amount which represents the amount withheld for support obligations and may also deduct an administrative fee representing actual costs, not to exceed two dollars ($2). In no event shall the withholding and the administrative fee exceed 25 percent or a lesser amount as specified in subdivision (e) of Section 17518 of the Family Code. The voluntary plan payer shall pay the amounts for support deducted and withheld pursuant to this section to the appropriate certifying county.
(d) The department shall maintain a current record of individuals certified as owing support obligations. If the department determines that the individual has a claim for unemployment compensation disability benefits with the department, it shall deduct and withhold the amounts specified in Section 17518 of the Family Code from the unemployment compensation disability benefits that would otherwise be payable to the individual. The department shall periodically pay the amounts deducted and withheld to the appropriate county or to the Department of Child Support Services as the assigned payee, as stipulated by mutual agreement, in the interagency agreement between the department and the Department of Child Support Services.
(e) Amounts deducted and withheld from an individual’s unemployment compensation disability benefits in accordance with subdivision (c) or (d) shall for all purposes be treated as if it were paid to the individual and then paid by the individual to the Department of Child Support Services or the appropriate certifying county.
(f) This section shall apply only if appropriate arrangements are made for the Department of Child Support Services to reimburse the department for its administrative costs for performing the functions required of it by this section.
(g) For purposes of this section, “support obligations” means the child and related spousal support obligations described in the state plan approved pursuant to Section 454 of the Social Security Act and as that section may hereafter be amended. However, to the extent “related spousal support obligations” may not be collected from unemployment compensation under federal law, those obligations shall not be included in the definition of support obligations under this section.
(Amended by Stats. 2000, Ch. 808, Sec. 117. Effective September 28, 2000.)