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“The IT infrastructure that many states are using is really outdated and needs to be upgraded,” Strain said.Įvery state runs its own unemployment system with different eligibility rules and application processes. Strain said states underinvested in their unemployment systems for decades before the pandemic. In a matter of weeks in March, claims nationwide jumped from around 200,000 to more than 6 million - and have remained historically high ever since. “It’s not a surprise that it was a shock to the system,” he said. So we still see callers that are talking about claims they filed in March that have not had a resolution and have not had any benefits paid.”Ĭalifornia’s unemployment overhaul is designed in part to improve and speed up identification verification and update antiquated IT.Īnd a lot of state unemployment systems have problems similar to California’s that have emerged since the pandemic hit, according to Michael Strain, director of economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. And she said: “Those applications are taking many months to resolve. But the remaining 40% are reviewed manually to verify identity and prevent fraud. Urban said that currently, about 60% of new applications are processed through an automated system and get paid within three weeks. “Since the beginning of the pandemic it has been just absolute frustration with EDD,” said Daniela Urban, executive director of the Center for Workers’ Rights in Sacramento, which provides advice and legal representation to Californians having problems claiming unemployment benefits.
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The panel - Newsom called it a “strike team” - documented so many problems that it recommended the system stop accepting new applications for two weeks while it gets caught up and begins an overhaul of procedures and IT infrastructure.
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Gavin Newsom appointed to look into the state Employment Development Department. That’s according to a report from a special commission that Gov. The Associated Press contributed to this report.Approximately 1.5 million applications for jobless benefits in California have been delayed by lengthy reviews and glitches in software and business processes, and the backlog is increasing by 10,000 per day. The fake unemployment claims and backlog of legitimate claims drew national attention during the pandemic and led to a wave of new funding to hire additional staff and modernize systems to detect fraud. Other efforts include working with the Fraud Task Force at the state Office of Emergency Services on more than 1,000 active investigations, arrests and prosecutions across California creating investigative guides for law enforcement and offering technical assistance to investigators and issuing scam alerts throughout the pandemic to warn the public about cellphone and email phishing schemes that aim to steal personal information. State officials also set up a call center to help victims of identity theft deal with tax-related questions and have been working with Bank of America to issue chip-enabled debit cards, according to Tuesday’s statement. Newsom’s office said state officials have taken steps to limit fraud, including stopping more than $125 billion in attempted fraud through an identity verification system that was implemented in 2020 and partnering with Thomson Reuters to help detect and prevent suspicious activity. She was replaced by Nancy Farias, a deputy director at the department since 2020. The EDD has been strained by widespread fraud and a backlog of payments during the pandemic this year, Rita Saenz stepped down as director after just over a year on the job. California Woman serving life in California prison led $2-million unemployment fraud scheme, prosecutors sayįederal authorities charged 13 people and arrested five, accusing them of using stolen identities to collect pandemic relief and other benefits.