CHULA VISTA, Calif. — The state unemployment agency continues to be overwhelmed as millions of Californians have lost their jobs in the coronavirus pandemic.
It's been three months since Michael Ingram first filed an unemployment claim with the Employment Development Department (EDD).
“Me and my wife religiously call every single day for hours on end and are not able to get through,” Ingram said.
The remodeling supervisor was laid off in March as the pandemic hit.
“We work in high-rise buildings and hotel buildings, so as soon as the virus hit and they started shutting down the buildings, my boss had to lay off the entire company temporarily,” he said.
With six family members living in his Chula Vista home, including his infant grandchild, the money has been drying up.
“Mainly we make sure we have formula for the baby. We make sure we have meals for the kids and we're pretty much tapped out. If I don't get my money soon, I won't have money to pay my mortgage,” said Ingram.
After filing his claim in March, EDD wrote to Ingram saying his identity needed to be verified. He mailed back copies of his W2 tax form, his driver’s license, and his social security card but never heard back from the agency.
“My information is all correct. I’m a United States citizen. My social security has been working for all my life. I don't understand what the issue is,” he said.
News 8 reached out to State Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez to find out what's going on with EDD.
“They’re clearly overwhelmed,” said Gonzalez, who represents the Chula Vista area.
“Obviously, nobody was ready for this pandemic. They've been trying to hire up quickly but they just can’t keep pace with the number of jobless claims that are out there,” said Gonzalez.
Her District 80 office has fielded more than 2,300 calls in the South Bay alone from unemployed workers unable to reach the EDD agency and having trouble getting money, the assemblywoman said.
“My biggest advice is to reach out to us. I know it's frustrating. You can call EDD for days on end and not get somebody answering. But you can call our office and we will help you with your claim – at least trying to navigate what's wrong – how to fix it and how we can move forward,” Gonzalez said.
A staff member from Gonzalez's office now is in contact with Ingram, trying to move his claim along,
“What am I to do at this point? I have no other avenue, no other phone number to call. I cannot get through,” Ingram said.
Assemblywoman Gonzalez is having a virtual town hall meeting on EDD issues Tuesday afternoon. You need to RSVP to call in.
EDD emailed News 8 the following statement:
"Due to confidentiality laws, we cannot confirm any details related to this individual’s case. In order to protect the integrity of the UI Trust Fund, the EDD must ask for additional documentation from a claimant if the information we receive on the application doesn’t match records. We’re finding that one of the most common reasons a claim is forwarded for staff review is when the SSN is entered incorrectly on the benefit application. EDD must verify the claimant’s identification before a benefit payment can be made.
The majority of impacted workers continue to be able to have their claim auto processed through our UI Online system and can receive their first benefit payment within about three weeks barring any issues that we’ve noted on our website that will always take longer to process including those where the wage information provided doesn’t match EDD records or we can’t verify the individual’s identity. According to the most recent data, the EDD has processed more than six million claims and paid more than $26.2 billion in benefits to eligible workers impacted by the pandemic.
There are many variables that need to be accounted for to give an accurate assessment of an individual’s claims status and there could be a number of reasons a claimant’s benefit certification has been delayed including those examples noted above. These issues are often unique to each claimant’s case and are best mitigated by the unemployment claims analysts who are working these individuals’ cases."