Chief of California’s unemployment agency to retire as EDD works through claim backlog

The director of the troubled California state department that handles unemployment insurance claims is retiring at the end of the year.

Employment Development Department Director Sharon Hilliard’s retirement will be effective Dec. 31, according to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency.

The announcement comes as the department continues to work through a backlog of claims from unemployed Californians, some of whom filed claims months ago. The backlog is down to 1.1 million claims from about 1.6 million last month, according to the department.

The department has processed 15.2 million claims this year, about four times the number processed during the worst year of the Great Recession, according to the department’s latest news release. Officials have said they expect to eliminate the backlog by the end of January.

Gov. Gavin Newsom created a strike team at the end of July to assess the department’s problems and propose solutions.

In August he announced the appointment of four new executives and a new adviser at the Labor and Workforce Development Agency.

The strike team published a report last month detailing the roles of outdated technology, inefficient staffing and significant problems stemming from the transition to remote work for EDD employees.

The department has been making recommended changes including restructuring staffing, booting up a new off-the-shelf identity verification tool and making changes to a call center.

Hilliard worked at EDD for more than 37 years, she said in a statement, and became director just before the pandemic.

“She has helped pave the path for EDD to reset its culture and modernize the system at this critical time,” Labor and Workforce Development Agency Secretary Julie Su said in an emailed statement. “This has been a challenging time for the people of California and Sharon and her team have put in the work during this time of unprecedented demand.”

Hilliard said in her statement that she was 19 when she started at the department.

“Looking back I could not have imagined how fortunate it would be to work with so many caring, strong, and professional people determined to provide the best services possible to the citizens of California,” she said in the statement. “I retire knowing that EDD is on a great path to success.”