CA AB138

Appropriates $1.881 billion to the Public Employees' Retirement Fund to address unfunded state liabilities for state employee member categories, with specific allocations to miscellaneous, industrial, safety, and peace officer/firefighter member categories.

Appropriates $616 million to the Annuitants' Health Care Coverage Fund to cover suspended 2020–21 employee prefunding contributions for retiree health and postemployment benefits across various state bargaining units.

Establishes the Garment Worker Wage Claim Pilot Program to provide educational services and legal assistance to garment workers regarding wage violations through contracts with qualified nonprofit organizations.

Requires the Employment Development Department to implement multilingual access services for unemployment insurance by specified dates, including translated documents in primary languages, dedicated phone lines, real-time interpretation services, and a multilingual access portal by February 1, 2024.

Sets the public school unemployment insurance contribution rate at 0.5% for fiscal years 2021–22 and 2022–23, extends disability insurance benefit calculations through January 1, 2023, and requires direct deposit payment options for unemployment and disability benefits beginning January 1, 2024.