People are still seeking help with EDD’s unemployment assistance application
It's been over a month since the California Employment Development Department started processing a high volume of unemployment assistance claims due to the coronavirus pandemic.
California Governor, Gavin Newsom said in a press conference on April 29, they went from 2,500 unemployment applications a day just a few months ago to now 235,000 applications on April 28.
News Channel 3 spoke with several people who are trying to apply for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) through the state’s employment development department website. Instead of getting the help they need, they’re experiencing a major headache.
"I started doubting if I’m filling out the right form," Palm Springs resident, Mary Ann Halpin told News Channel 3. "It’s really overwhelming,” she added.
According to the EDD website, at the beginning of 2020, the initial claims by Riverside county were about 13,000. That number has since jumped to over 102,000 by March 2020. With the increase in applications came an increase in issues.
Several people saying the website crashes multiple times, it takes hours to get their application submitted and when they call for help they're left feeling hopeless.
Governor Newsom says they're doing all they can to help with the influx in applications and calls. He says they are using chatbots, hiring more people to help answer calls and extending hours for those calls.
Ellen Pirosh, a local small business owner and Cathedral City resident applied for PUA on April 28. After the web page never loaded she decided to go another route in submitting her application.
“I was looking at the stamps in my drawer and I thought oh there’s an address right on there on the application and it’s going to Oakland and I’m sure it’s there right now,” Pirosh said.
Vincent Corrales applied on the same day as Pirosh. He said the website crashed over 25 times over the course of five hours before his application went through. He said the application itself only took him 12 minutes to complete.
Governor Newsom said the turn around for money from PUA should come within a seven day period. You'll get your money on a debit card.
“This is really a tough time for everyone," Corrales said. "We just have to be extremely patient. I know May is just around the corner, bills are coming up again. Rent, care payment, all the different bills, cell bill, everything,” he said.
He offered advice to others experiencing similar problems.
“When you start to feel really stressed out and frustrated I would just get up and walk away ya know walk away a little bit and maybe just call a friend, take a breath of fresh air," Corrales said.
We reached out to EDD for what they are doing to help accommodate the influx of applications and calls.
STATEMENT FROM EDD:
Since March 15, EDD has paid out well over $3 Billion dollars in UI payment, and filed over 3.2 million claims, which are historic numbers. In addition to the technical and claims-specific assistance available by phone, people can find numerous resources on our website that will help them navigate through this process.
To continue to improve our process, we put a number of measures in place to provide better service and relief to meets the current demand:
1) March 24 — Secretary Su directed EDD to streamline the process of claims, allowing the EDD to award benefits to a claimant before making a final determination regarding whether the claimant is able and available to work.
2) April 14 – Secretary Su announced the processing claims from 6 a.m. – 8 p.m. daily with continued increases in staffing in order to deliver payment on most claims in a three-week window. She established a timeline of two weeks to launch the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program.
3) April 20 — At the Governor’s direction, the Employment Development Department (EDD) launched a new call center on Monday, April 20 that will operate 7 days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. The Unemployment Insurance Branch continues to onboard and train more than 1,300 redirected employees to ensure we are answering technical questions and directing people to utilize our online resources.
4) April 23—Secretary Su directed EDD to suspend UI re-certifications to alleviate strain on our online system, we will contact you at a later time with instructions on how to provide retroactive certification for this time period.
But we know we can and will need to do more
· As mentioned, we launched the new call center to help people with information and technical information on Monday and we are continually onboarding folks as soon as they are trained.
· All of our phone systems are experiencing a high volume of calls, and we recognize that can be frustrating. We are working very diligently to continue to expand availability to answer more questions directly. One of the things we’re doing is suspending the re-certification of UI payments, so that it will clear the phone and UI online system for those who need help.
· Providing aid to those with questions top priority for Sec Su and EDD Director Sharon Hilliard. Sec Su and Director Hilliard EDD are working to make sure we have more folks able to pick up the line and that the UI online experience is smoother for folks.
You can contact EDD here:
https://edd.ca.gov/about_edd/contact_edd.htm
If you still need help and can’t get in touch with EDD, the office of assemblyman Chad Mayes says you can reach out to the district number at: (760) 346-6342 and they will try to help you.
Here you can see how much the state’s unemployment insurance (UI) claims have jumped every week since the beginning of March.
In February 2020, there was about $21 million in benefits paid to those in Riverside county. In March, it jumped to over $31 million.
Through this mass of frustration, Halpin says there is a silver lining.
“The beautiful things is that what I’m finding down here in the desert is that people are really helping each other out and it’s beautiful because we really are in this together and we have to help each other get through this,” she said.
She found help from others in a Facebook group who experienced similar struggles when trying to apply for PUA.
Here is the EDD website to apply for unemployment help: https://edd.ca.gov/
Here is a direct link to the PUA application. Step one, you'll need to register here:
https://portal.edd.ca.gov/WebApp/Login?resource_url=https%3A%2F%2Fportal.edd.ca.gov%2FWebApp%2FHome
Tips for people applying that are self employed:
https://unemployment.edd.ca.gov/guide
How to apply:
https://unemployment.edd.ca.gov/guide#how-to-apply
What to expect after you submit your application:
https://unemployment.edd.ca.gov/guide#after-you-submit
Contact EDD here:
