header image

[Sign Up Now] to Receive Our FREE Daily SCVTV-SCVNews Digest by E-Mail

Inside
Weather


 
Calendar
Today in
S.C.V. History
March 18
1919 - Fire destroys abandoned second Southern Hotel, built 1878 in Newhall (corner Main & Market) [story]
Second Southern Hotel


| Wednesday, Jan 27, 2021
employment
A Santa Clarita resident had been receiving unemployment insurance payments for three months when Bank of America froze the account in December, citing potential fraud. The bank card pictured has a magnetic strip, not a chip. The resident's repeated calls to EDD and BofA and email exchanges with both entities attempting to re-confirm identity and resolve the issue were unsuccessful for more than 30 days as of January 27, 2020. | Photo: Stephen K. Peeples / SCVNews.com.

 

SACRAMENTO — Nearly a year into a pandemic that gobbled up millions of jobs and caused double-digit jobless rates, California’s Employment Development Department is still mired one of the largest — and most costly — bureaucratic failures in state history.

Despite sweeping changes promised by the governor last summer, the state’s fractured Employment Development Department, which left hundreds of thousands of freshly unemployed residents in the dark while sending billions to inmates and fraudsters, is far from fixed.

Still carrying a massive backlog of unemployment claims, a state audit released Tuesday found many of the department’s problems were self-inflicted and predicted it will continue hassling Californians long after the pandemic.

“The department has not adequately planned how it will address this impending workload,” the audit said of the state’s ongoing attempt to weed out legitimate claims from fraudulent ones. “Claimants who applied in good faith may have to repay the benefits they received if the department finds them retroactively ineligible for some of all of those benefits.”

Swamped by a record number of unemployment claims, the employment department has buckled, leaving scores of Californians without an income over the course of the pandemic.

With their livelihoods erased by the coronavirus, millions of jobless Californians turned to a department that wasn’t even able to answer the phone. Once the claims surge began, the department answered fewer than 1% of calls made by desperate residents.

According to State Auditor Elaine Howle, the employment department’s call center deficiencies predate the pandemic.

“Despite knowing for years that it had problems in the call center, the department has not yet adopted best practices for managing the call center,” Howle says in the audit. “Leaving it less prepared to effectively assist the many Californians attempting to navigate the claim process for the first time.”

California appears to be working through a bout of déjà vu, as Howle says many of the same issues surfaced at the department during the Great Recession.

While the employment department received 6.5 million claims during the first half of 2020 alone — up from 3.8 million during 2008 and 2009 — the audit found it did little to prepare for the next major recession. The report says the department has been suffering from a shoddy claims process, staffing problems and a defective call center for nearly 10 years.

“We expected that the department would have a plan for scaling up its unemployment insurance program in response to a recession so that it could provide timely assistance to Californians,” the report states bluntly. “However, the department had no such plan ready.”

Aside from it being nearly impossible for Californians to find help over the phone, Howle says over 800,000 claimants that filed between April and September 2020 waited longer than 21 days to receive their first payment.

The department’s shortcomings have also made it an easy target for opportunistic criminals.

According to local and federal prosecutors, at least 35,000 California inmates filed for unemployment from March through August and the department paid out as much $30 billion in fraudulent benefits. They claim benefits were sent to applicants with names like “Poopy Britches” and even death row inmates.

Of the $114 billion in unemployment benefits paid out since March 2020, the department acknowledges nearly 10% went to fraudsters and that it’s still investigating other claims.

“The department was clearly under-prepared for the type and magnitude of criminal attacks and the sheer quantity of claims,” said EDD director Rita Saenz on Monday. “We are focused on making the changes necessary to provide benefits to eligible Californians as quickly as possible and stopping fraud before it enters the system.”

Howle acknowledges the employment department was tossed a historic workload with little warning but says its decision to relax eligibility requirements made it an easy fraud target.

To get money to Californians more quickly, the department greenlighted applications without fully examining whether they met the main eligibility criteria — being able to and available for work. Criminals not only took advantage of the decision, but the department is also now faced with the mammoth task of going back through millions of fast-tracked claims.

In fact, the department has already sent out retroactive notices to 1.7 million Californians who may have been overpaid.

“Because the department told claimants not to certify their continued eligibility, it faces another significant workload it must manage,” the report continues.

To increase transparency, Howle recommends the Legislature require the department to report publicly every six months on the amount of benefits it overpaid and has recouped. Lawmakers should also force the department to submit an operating plan for the next economic downturn, including how to better handle claim surges.

The bipartisan group of lawmakers who approved the emergency audit of the EDD last summer said the Legislature can’t wait for Governor Gavin Newsom to clean up the mess. In a letter, the group of state senators called for immediate oversight hearings in wake of Tuesday’s report.

“Since the pandemic began almost 11 months ago, we have heard horror stories from our constituents about unemployment claims being delayed, denied or just lost in the bureaucracy,” they wrote. “Unfortunately, we have also seen the governor’s past plans and initiatives fail to reform these problems, and the recently released governor’s budget offered no new proposals for strategic changes, systems investment, or management improvements.”

For the department specifically, Howle recommends it revise its public dashboard to show how many claims are actually waiting for payment and catalogue the reasons for each call it receives. The department responded it will implement all of the audit’s suggestions and noted it has greatly stepped up fraud prevention efforts, catching over 357,000 fraudulent claims in the last three months.

— By Nick Cahill, CNS

Comment On This Story
COMMENT POLICY: We welcome comments from individuals and businesses. All comments are moderated. Comments are subject to rejection if they are vulgar, combative, or in poor taste.
REAL NAMES ONLY: All posters must use their real individual or business name. This applies equally to Twitter account holders who use a nickname.

1 Comment

  1. Osmin Gonzalez says:

    Hello my name it osmin Gonzalez I loose my job I get positive on covid 19 after that loose my wife and iam homes with three Daughter I real need your help I trust in you gays that you can helping

Leave a Comment


SCV NewsBreak
LOCAL NEWS HEADLINES
Monday, Mar 18, 2024
Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival Live Music Performers Announced
The 28th Annual Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival is back with your favorite musical performers and an exciting lineup of new acts.
Monday, Mar 18, 2024
City’s 2024 ‘Celebrate’ Lineup Released
There is so much to learn from different customs and cultures and you don’t need a plane ticket to experience it all.
Monday, Mar 18, 2024
March 22: COC’s Uniquely Abled Academy Robotics Graduation
On Friday, March 22, the Uniquely Abled Academy (UAA) at College of the Canyons will host a graduation ceremony for nine students who have completed the UAA’s pilot robotics training program.
Keep Up With Our Facebook

Latest Additions to SCVNews.com
College of the Canyons notched its first victory at the newly named Mike Gillespie Field on Saturday, winning its second straight conference series, this time over visiting Bakersfield College, by a 6-4 final score. 
Cougars Notch First Win at Mike Gillespie Field
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- The Master's University hit 20 3-pointers, one shy of the program record in a game, to defeat the St. Thomas Bobcats 122-91 in the second round of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Men's Basketball National Championship tournament.
Mustangs Advance to NAIA Sweet 16
The Master's University baseball team lost a pair of 1-run games Saturday against the Menlo Oaks in Atherton, Calif.
Mustangs Drop Three Games to Menlo
The Los Angeles County Development Authority is excited to announce that its executive director, Emilio Salas, has been appointed to a two-year term to serve as a member of the national Strategic Planning Advisory Committee for the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO).
LACDA’s Emilio Salas Appointed to National Planning Advisory Committee
The 28th Annual Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival is back with your favorite musical performers and an exciting lineup of new acts.
Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival Live Music Performers Announced
REDLANDS — College of the Canyons track and field recorded a dozen top-10 finishes and established 30 new personal records while competing at the University of Redlands Invitational on March 15. 
Cougars Earn Top-10 Finishes at Redlands Invitational
There is so much to learn from different customs and cultures and you don’t need a plane ticket to experience it all.
City’s 2024 ‘Celebrate’ Lineup Released
Big Chicken, the star-powered fast casual chicken concept, which has a location in Santa Clarita, is fueling the mania for the Big Tournament with a nationwide Big Bracket Challenge.
Compete for Chance to Open Shaquille O’Neal Chicken Restaurant
California State University, Northridge’s Spring 2024 Cinematheque series will pay tribute to Hollywood casting director and producer Deborah Aquila, executive vice president and head of casting at Paramount Television Studios and CBS Studios, to mark the end of Women’s History Month on Wednesday, March 27.
Legendary Casting Director Deborah Aquila to Speak at CSUN
On Friday, March 22, the Uniquely Abled Academy (UAA) at College of the Canyons will host a graduation ceremony for nine students who have completed the UAA’s pilot robotics training program.
March 22: COC’s Uniquely Abled Academy Robotics Graduation
The Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation is excited to announce spring has sprung at its local parks, including those in the Santa Clarita Valley.
L.A. County Parks Releases Spring Jubilee Dates
The city of Santa Clarita’s Film Office released the list of six productions currently filming in the Santa Clarita Valley for the week of Monday, March 18 - Sunday, March 24.
‘Bosch Legacy,’ ‘CSI Vegas’ Among Six Productions Filming in SCV
Unlike our children who enjoy a week-long spring break, we adults no longer have that luxury.
Ken Striplin | Register Now for Spring Break Camp 2024
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health cautions residents who are planning to visit the following Los Angeles County beaches to avoid swimming, surfing and playing in ocean waters due to bacterial levels exceeding health standards when last tested.
Ocean Water Advisory Continues for L.A. County Beaches
The California Department of Motor Vehicles now offers a faster way for businesses to check that their employees have clean driving records using the new online Employee Pull Notice (EPN) Service.
DMV Launches Enhanced Digital Employer Pull Notice Service
1919 - Fire destroys abandoned second Southern Hotel, built 1878 in Newhall (corner Main & Market) [story]
Second Southern Hotel
1927 - Newhall telephone exchange, est. 1900, now serves 100 phones [story]
telephone
2003 - Lifesize sculpture honoring heroes of St. Francis Dam disaster unveiled in Santa Paula [video]
The Warning
In the first of three matches on consecutive nights in Arizona, The Master's men's volleyball team defeated Benedictine-Mesa in three sets 27-25, 28-26, 25-19.
TMU Men’s Volleyball Sweeps Benu in Arizona
Greg Herrick, the former longtime College of the Canyons women's basketball head coach who recorded 611 career wins while winning 16 conference titles, was inducted into the California Community College Women's Basketball Coaches Association (CCCWBCA) Hall of Fame during the organization's annual Banquet of Champions at Mt. San Antonio College on March 13.
Longtime COC Women’s Basketball Coach Herrick Enshrined in Hall of Fame
The Santa Clarita Planning Commission will hold its regular meeting Tuesday, March 19, at 6 p.m. in City Council Chambers City Hall, 23920 Valencia Blvd. 1st Floor, Santa Clarita, CA 91355.
March 19: Planning Commission to Discuss Wiley Canyon Mixed Use Project
Attend the city of Santa Clarita's most unique egg hunt, the Splash N’ Dash at the Santa Clarita Aquatics Center, presented by Kaiser Permanente.
March 30: Dive into Spring at Splash n’ Dash Egg Hunt
String orchestras and concert bands from around the Santa Clarita Valley and Southern California will participate in the Southern California School Band & Orchestra Association concert festival hosted by West Ranch High School on Tuesday, March 26 and Wednesday, March 27, 10 a.m.-9:30 p.m.
March 26-27: SoCal School Band, Orchestra Concert Festival
SCVNews.com