Employment Development Department (EDD) adds staff to help legislators with unemployment claims

California News Times, Fontana: ~ early July, 2021

California, USA — Employment Development Department (EDD) wants to reduce its profit backlog by having two staff members in each California legislature focus solely on EDD billing.

With funding from existing parliamentary working capital, these additional staff members will help take part of the proceedings from legislative staff who have played an important role in addressing member issues regarding unemployment benefits.

Congressman Jim Patterson (R-Fresno) told ABC10 that his own office is handling a huge influx of plaintiffs who are dissatisfied with the EDD system.

“Each of my staff in both Sacramento and Fresno has an EDD case they’re working on, and they’re in the hundreds,” Patterson said. “And my staff is about to burn out.”

But when asked if the two EDD staff would have a significant impact, Patterson replied, “No, it’s not.”

“Thanks for the fact that we are receiving additional support, which shows how bad EDD is operating. They are now using our office and staff to work with EDD casework. We need to do and benefit people. “Patterson said.

Patterson pointed out that staffing issues are only part of a larger issue regarding the deployment of unemployment benefits by EDD.

EDD has been annoying Rampant scam, Technical issues Many people are no longer able to receive benefits, and what the department is currently saying is the unprocessed portion of benefit payments. “The end of this summer.”

“I think we still have a huge backlog, but EDD is still making a lot of mistakes because the basic problem hasn’t been resolved. It’s with COBOL technology, an absolutely failing call center, and the Bank of. It’s a contract. America is causing more problems than the value of the contract. ”

EDD recently renewed its contract with Bank of America and continued to set up debit cards to collect unemployment benefits. But Bank of America says It wants to be completely out of contract..

When Patterson criticizes the COBOL technology that EDD continues to use, he is not alone. COBOL was once the world’s default programming language …Post-WWII era..

“We are the home of Silicon Valley geniuses who constantly solve these problems in the public sector,” says Patterson. “Still, California has bureaucracy built in the 1960s and 1970s. They have never been modernized.”

Lawmakers said the EDD issue prevented their office from supporting other members and addressing other pressing issues in their area.

He said he would add staff to focus specifically on unemployment insurance claims or let the department focus on “customer service.” Identified as a problem in the pastIgnores major departmental issues such as outdated technology.

“The fact that we hire individuals to do the job of managing files, complaints, and the concerns of those who need to get answers from EDD show that the problem goes far beyond their ability to solve. “Yes,” said Patterson. “And their technology has failed dramatically, so we intervene and do our best.”