California unemployment agency set limits on requests to help ‘hardship’ cases
The state’s Employment Development Department told senators and Assembly members concerned about special constituent “hardship requests” they could ask for help with only one each week – but after an uproar from some lawmakers the agency has changed its mind.
With the state’s unemployment agency deluged with calls from Californians seeking financial assistance, legislative and EDD staff members have been talking every two weeks to help coordinate responses.
Earlier this month, EDD officials said, some legislative aides suggested that the agency come up with a way to get older cases, or those with immediate needs, considered more quickly. The agency provided no lawmakers’ names.
On June 18 the department’s Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs Office sent a memo to legislative offices saying it had established guidelines for them to seek “an expedited processing of constituent referrals whose specific circumstances warrant such action.”
The unemployment agency said that beginning June 22, “Each Assembly or Senate district office may request one constituent referral per week to be expedited. These requests may be for a new or an existing legislative referral. The EDD requests that district offices designate one staff member who will make these requests and manage these priority referrals.”
It offered a screenshot of how to send along such referrals, including the words “HARDSHIP REQUEST” in the subject line.
Some lawmakers were enraged that such a policy was even considered, since “we’re being swamped,” said Assemblyman Jim Patterson, R-Fresno, whose office referred about 30 new cases last week. Patterson last week formally requested a state audit of the department.
Assemblyman David Chiu’s office sent EDD 20 new cases last week. “We did not label any of the cases we sent last week as ‘hardship’ cases because we have many, many constituents who would fall into that category, and choosing just one feels arbitrary and unfair,” said Jennifer Kwart, a spokeswoman for the San Francisco Democrat.
And, she said, “We have many constituents who are experiencing a hardship and have been waiting for replies for weeks. We would just like to see EDD work on their overall resolution times and prioritize the oldest cases that have been waiting for responses and benefits for weeks.”
EDD has been swamped for months as the coronavirus pandemic triggered the state’s worst economic downturn in decades. Unemployment reached 16.3 percent in May. As of June 20, 6.7 million people in the state have received $33.5 billion in benefits since mid-March.
Many people nevertheless have told lawmakers, and The Sacramento Bee, that they’ve had a difficult time reaching anyone at the agency, and often turned to senators and Assembly members to help them.
The EDD hardship memo offered guidelines as to how to decide which case to expedite.
Lawmakers, it said, “may wish to consider the constituent’s available resources to finance basic necessities so priority is given to those who need immediate financial assistance in order to pay for housing, utilities, food, or health care.”
They should also consider “the amount of time the constituent has been waiting to receive information about their unemployment insurance eligibility and pay status.”
The memo advised that EDD will continue to address other referrals in the order they were received as the department has been doing over the past few months.
On Friday’s conference call, some legislative staff members were adamant the policy be changed – and quickly.
EDD staff said they would formulate a new approach. Trying to handle the volume of requests is “constantly evolving,’ said EDD spokeswoman Loree Levy Monday. ”We’re just trying to work with them to determine the most efficient process for follow up.”
She said dozens of unemployment insurance staff members have been redirected to help with those requests.
“EDD is no longer instituting a limit, and is working with legislative offices to prioritize the requests they have received,” she said.
This story was originally published June 29, 2020 at 3:29 PM.
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