Unemployment delays cause many people stress and worry
Not being able to find a job is hard enough, but not getting your unemployment makes life even harder. Michelle Castillo waits for the bus, and for that bi-monthly money.
“Not knowing when I’m going to receive it is quite frightening because I don’t know when I can pay my bills or rent,” she said.
She’s far from alone. 90,000 of the 800,000 Californians getting unemployment haven’t received theirs in weeks.
“A heads up would’ve been nice. An email, a letter maybe,” Castillo said.
The Employment Development Department’s 30 year old system needed updating – but that update brought a problem. The EDD has to transfer all the old data to new data, and they have to do that manually.
Here are some things to know if you are waiting for your money.
First off, a reminder that unemployment isn’t in the form of checks anymore, it’s all debit. So don’t check your mailbox, check your bank account.Also, the EDD only has phone service from 8:00 am to noon, so you’re likely not able to reach anyone there. Check their Facebook, Twitter, and website for the latest information.
Castillo will continue to wait, as do a lot of people she knows.
“My sister and their brother in law especially because they have a kid. They rely on it for food, rent, and bills, diapers for their kids. Not just my sister and brother, lots of residents here in the valley. For them not to receive it, could cause extra fees, eviction, late payments,” Castillo said
The EDD gave us this statement: “We know many people use this money as a lifeline, and we are very sympathetic. we know they depend on this for food and shelter. we’re working around the clock.”
The EDD would not say when they would get the system caught up. They did say people will get all their money, and asked for patience.
The EDD said they do anticipate these numbers to turn around and significantly decrease through the rest of the week. Also, important to note, the EDD said if your unemployment is delayed more than three weeks, it is because of another issue.
