(a) A disability indemnity payment shall not be made by any written instrument unless it is immediately negotiable and payable in cash, on demand, without discount, at some established place of business in the state.
(b) This section does not prohibit an employer from depositing the disability indemnity payment in an account in any bank, savings and loan association, or credit union of the employee’s choice in this state, provided the employee has voluntarily authorized the deposit, nor does it prohibit an employer from electronically depositing the disability indemnity payment in an account in any bank, savings and loan association, or credit union that the employee has previously authorized to receive electronic deposits of payroll, unless the employee has requested, in writing, that disability indemnity benefits not be electronically deposited in the account.
(c) It is not a violation of this section if a delay in the negotiation of a written instrument is caused solely by the application of state or federal banking laws or regulations.
(d) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2023.
(Repealed and added by Stats. 2018, Ch. 730, Sec. 2. (SB 880) Effective January 1, 2019. Section operative January 1, 2023, by its own provisions.)