The California Employment Development Department has been trying to process a 370% increase in unemployment claims amid the coronavirus outbreak.
OAKLAND - California is struggling to keep up with the skyrocketing number of unemployment claims from the historic number of workers who have been laid off during the coronavirus outbreak.
This week, the state Employment Development Department said it processed more than 878,000 unemployment claims – a 370% increase from the week before.
But as the agency works to process the flood of claims, many laid off workers are reporting widespread breakdowns by the agency. They can’t get the checks they need to get by.
"It’s extremely frustrating because the bills keep coming,” said Kristi Ades, an administrator at a tech startup who was recently laid off. “I’ve now been thrown into being a full time kindergarten teacher to my son. It’s a lot.”
Ades said she filed a claim with the EDD last month and received a check for a mere $16. She’s since been unable to contact the agency.
The EDD is telling callers in a pre-recorded message to file claims on its website. But for anyone with a specific need like Ades, getting through has been impossible.
“I’m not able to get ahold of anybody,” she said. “I can’t get responses. Everywhere I turn it’s been a dead end.”
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The same goes for Mike McCulley, a veteran in the US Air Force Reserves who was recently furloughed.
His claim requires special processing that can’t be completed online.
“My experience is that it hasn’t been easier for veterans,” he said. “That’s something I can say for sure. It’s been harder in my case.”
Showing up in person at one of the agency’s California offices is also a lost cause. The EDD shuttered its buildings as part of a statewide shelter in place order.
As people continue to have trouble with claims, the EDD has been scrambling to find staff while it's choked with calls.
An agency spokesman on Friday sent KTVU a statement saying it’s “directing additional staff to help with claims that will always take more time and handling.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom addressed the problem at a press conference this week.
“We have a lot of work to do,” he said. “The magnitude of this again is without precedent. Good enough never is and we recognize the deep responsibility.”
But for people like Peggy Lazzarini, those words bring little comfort.
“I have no food for my grandson,” she said. “My daughter’s nine months pregnant. I have no gas money to get me places. It’s just frustrating because it’s a mistake on their end.”
Lazzarini said she worked for 5 years as a server at a Claim Jumper restaurant. When she was laid off last month, the EDD said her benefit amount was zero dollars.
She said she’s called the office 500 times in the last few days but has never gotten anyone one the phone.
“It’s so stressful to sit there on your phone and hit redial, redial, redial hoping to get through and then there’s that one chance to get through and you get disconnected,” she said.
Evan Sernoffsky is an investigative reporter for KTVU. Email Evan at evan.sernoffsky@foxtv.com and follow him on Twitter @EvanSernoffsky
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April 04, 2020 at 11:47AM
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Many California workers prevented from filing unemployment claims amid coronavirus outbreak - KTVU San Francisco
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