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California's unemployment agency under fire from all sides

Democrats and Republicans are calling for an overhaul of the EDD agency.

SAN DIEGO — Governor Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday a package of reforms to overhaul the state's embattled unemployment insurance agency, the Employment Development Department (EDD).

Newsom’s announcement came as Republican lawmakers were calling for an audit of EDD by the California State Auditor.  However, a scheduled Aug. 11 meeting of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee was canceled in advance of the governor’s announcement.

Meanwhile, slowly but surely, some unemployed workers are starting to see their claims come through.

“It was kind of like trying to contact somebody in a black hole,” said Matt Domagala of Poway.  

The unemployed medical equipment engineer was laid off in May because of the pandemic.

“I called every day - half an hour in the morning, half an hour at lunchtime. I wrote a total of 20 emails that went unanswered,” said Domagala.

Domagala reached out to News 8 last week for help, and News 8's Abbie Alford contacted the office of Assemblyman Brian Maienschein. The next day, Domagala finally started getting updated messages from EDD.

RELATED: Working it Out: Navigating unemployment during COVID-19

“I don’t know what happened or what caused everybody to, all of a sudden, take an interest.  I'm just glad that they did and I think it has a lot to do with you guys,” he told News 8.

In Sacramento, Republican lawmakers called for an audit of EDD, as millions of Californians are having problems getting claim money.

RELATED: Assembly members push for audit of state unemployment agency, EDD

The cancellation of the Aug. 11 audit committee meeting did not sit well with Assemblyman Jim Patterson.

“The actions by the Senate to decide not to show up have simply closed down our opportunity for transparency, and for information as to why Californians are in such a state because of the EDD,” said Patterson, who represents the Fresno area.

Patterson said his office was contacted by whistle-blowers, who work for EDD.

“They are saying that their training is worthless because they're trained to simply answer a phone, solve no problem, tell them they'll get a callback, and they never do,” Patterson said.

Not everybody agrees a government audit is the answer, though.

“If they audit them right now, all that's going to do is slow down a situation that's already grinding to a halt, or had been grinding to a halt,” said Domagala, the unemployed engineer from Poway.

Domagala recently started receiving EDD claim payments after waiting for weeks.

“I got the card in the mail and I just activated it as a matter of fact,” said Domagala.  “At this point, I’m just glad to have some funds available to pay my bills.”

Governor Newsom’s EDD reforms announced Wednesday included:

Deploy a strike team to modernize information technology programs and transform the customer experience.

The strike team will be supported by the California Department of Technology (CDT) and the Office of Digital Innovation (ODI). The strike team will identify steps to transform the unemployment insurance customer experience for the digital age. Within 45 days, the strike team will deliver a roadmap that outlines short-, mid- and long-term recommendations and solutions to transform the customer experience of applying for and receiving UI benefits.

Focus on immediately processing claims. 

Prioritizing the oldest claims first, EDD is actively processing all claims in the “Pending Resolution” category and anticipates eliminating the backlog of actionable claims by the end of September. To assist with addressing the almost 1 million claims that may be eligible for payment with additional information, EDD will initiate immediate and weekly reminders to claimants to certify their claim. Going forward, EDD will work with the Legislature and advocates to create more user-friendly notifications and enhance the UI Online customer service experience.

EDD will also streamline the call center experience including an updated Interactive Voice Response (IVR) automation with the goal of routing a caller to a call center representative who has specialized training with that specific issue.

Enhancing partnership with the Legislature to improve communication with claimants. 

Building on bi-weekly meetings with legislators and staff, EDD hopes to leverage the Legislature’s unique ability to connect with their constituents to assist with improving communication with claimants. EDD will collaborate with legislators and staff to amplify EDD messaging regarding certification requirements – claimants need to certify every two weeks – this message needs to be more broadly shared on a regular basis, as well as work in partnership to adjust FAQs and responses to the common questions constituents have raised. Input from legislative offices has been integral for the department in identifying areas of focus and we look forward to working with the Legislature to improve the Department in the months to come.

“There should be no barriers between Californians and the benefits they have earned,” said Governor Newsom. “Unprecedented demand due to job loss during this pandemic paired with an antiquated system have created an unacceptable backlog of claims. Californians deserve better, and these reform efforts aim to move the Department in that direction.”

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