As California faces a $20 billion unemployment fraud deficit, businesses may be required to pay back the funds, according to Sen. Patricia Bates (R-Huntington Beach). Bates said employers will be responsible for paying back the money lost from fraudulent unemployment benefit claims in 2022, as required by federal law. “That’s going to be a burden on them,” Bates said on Epoch TV’s “California Insider.” The Federal Unemployment Tax Act, a tax on employers that funds unemployment compensation, requires businesses to make up for a deficit if the funds run dry, according to Bates. Bates said the recent unemployment fraud deficit may cost employers in California an added $21 per employee, at minimum. The widespread fraud started throughout the state when the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation was offered through the Employment Development Department (EDD) beginning in March 2020. When the unemployment system became overwhelmed during the pandemic, the EDD began to …