State Report Asks for Reforms, but Many May Not See Unemployment Benefits Until January

Lawmakers and advocates are eager to see California’s Employment Development Department (EDD) implement reforms recommended by a state-backed task force in a new report.

The department has been under scrutiny since early in the pandemic for its dated digital resources and inefficient staffing structure. These shortfalls, among others, have led to more than a million Californians — 1.6 million, according to the latest figures — getting by with staggered payments or, in some cases, receiving no payments at all.

In addition to the technological shortfalls and lack of staffing, the state task force's report – called a "strike team" by Gov. Gavin Newsom – also highlighted how the department's own priorities have contributed to the bottlenecks that are keeping Californians from getting their benefits.

This came as no surprise to Daniela Urban, an attorney with Legal Aid at Work and founder of the Center for Workers’ Rights in Sacramento.

“EDD has had a history, and it's pointed out in the strike team report, of their belief that their need to combat fraud is of utmost importance," Urban said, "we see that come into conflict with claimants’ ability to access benefits in many ways.”

According to the report, more than 20,000 claims per day are diverted to be hand processed. Most of those diversions, the report says, are related to identity verification issues: In other words, EDD is taking these extra steps to prove these claims aren’t fraudulent. The reason it takes so long besides sheer numbers is, as of now, claimants have to physically mail these documents into the agency — there’s no digital uploading.

According to Assemblymember David Chiu, who’s been critical of the department since the pandemic started, these extra efforts are doing more harm than good.

“On the one hand, the current identity verification processes have not been able to address existing fraud efforts by sophisticated criminals," Chiu said. "On the other hand, the identity verification has blocked honest Californians from being able to access the benefits that they are due. So it has been the worst of both worlds.”

In response to the recommendations of the strike team, the department will pause accepting new claims for the next two weeks to implement a new digital identity verification system called ID.me, which will allow applicants to submit identification materials online.

In July, EDD told lawmakers its backlog of more than one million people would be cleared by the end of September. Now the agency has pushed this timeline out to the end of January.

Chiu says he and his colleagues will be monitoring EDD’s actions closely in the wake of the report, and if they don’t see improvements soon, he says there will be legitimate questions around whether the agency’s leadership should continue as is.

Urban says claimants who have not been able to access the benefits they are entitled to should monitor EDD’s newsroom for updates and reach out to advocacy groups like hers for guidance. Those who are currently receiving benefits should make sure they continue to recertify on time and answer claim forms questions correctly.