An Update on EDD

As of this week, nearly 50% of Californians have been fully vaccinated with another 15% having received at least one shot. We’re starting to see a gentle rollback of the public safety measures we’ve all had to endure for the last year. It feels good. No, we’re not out of the woods yet; but after so much heartache, loss and displacement, many people in our district are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel and the resumption of normal life. However, this feeling isn’t shared by the millions of people statewide who are still struggling to make ends meet, many of them caught up in problems and delays accessing unemployment benefits from the California Employment Development Department, or EDD.

Since the pandemic first hit our community and we went into shutdown, my office has received an extremely high number of requests for assistance dealing with EDD. The stories we hear are heartbreaking – people struggling to pay their rent or mortgages, parents worried about putting food on the table for their children. Over 2,000 people in our district contacted my office, facing the deep emotional challenges of extraordinary economic uncertainty. There is nothing more painful to me as your representative than to know how many in our community are suffering. For this reason, my office has committed almost all our time and resources to working to connect people with resources, including rental and food assistance. And EDD-related issues have taken the lion’s share of our staff‘s focus and time.

To put it into perspective, in 2020 my office helped connect more than 1,500 people to their unemployment benefits. Since Jan. 1, 2021, my district office has had over 1,500 people come to us for assistance. The problems with the department are severe and numerous, and I’ve been actively meeting with EDD Director Rita Saenz, the governor’s office, and legislative leaders to advocate for more EDD staff, additional resources to assist legislative offices and for improvements to the EDD system.

Fortunately, some of my proposals have been instituted and I will continue to strongly advocate on these issues until they are resolved and my constituents get the benefits they need and have earned.

In the meantime, what should you do if you’re stuck waiting for your unemployment benefits? Of course, if EDD is unable to resolve your claim you can reach out to my office. While our phone lines are jammed and we receive hundreds of emails a day, my staff of five is working around the clock to answer queries and take up any constituent’s issue that comes to us. We are here to help.

I’d like to share some tips we’ve learned through this process that may help clear up some confusion or remedy the situation further.

First of all, if you filed for traditional unemployment insurance (UI), not Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), and your 2020-2021 benefit year has expired, you need to file a new claim to continue receiving benefits. If you received an extension, but your benefit year has expired, you also need to file a new claim. For example, if you were laid off when the original lockdown started in mid-March 2020, and you are still unemployed, you will need to file a new claim even if you have not been working for the intervening year. If that claim is denied due to lack of wages in the base period, your previous claim will be extended.

Filing online is the quickest way to re-apply. EDD has told us that if your online application goes smoothly, funds should be approved within two to three weeks of applying.

If you are unable to file online, the next solution is to call EDD. Unfortunately, our staff does not have direct access to the EDD system nor are we able process claims, but you may be able to reach an EDD representative who does when you call.

Here are tips on how to call EDD:

• EDD phone numbers 1-833-978-2511 or 1-800-300-5616 – both numbers go to the same center.
• Monday – Sunday between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. PST (10:15/10:30 a.m. or closer to 6 p.m. – 7 p.m. seem to be best).
• Press 1 during the first recording, then press 2, then press 4 to get through to an EDD representative.
• Persistence is key when calling EDD. You may get a message that your call cannot be completed at this time. Hang up and try again. It may take some time and dialing to get connected to someone who is able to help you.
• Some EDD representatives cannot transfer you, so you may need to call back to ask for a representative who can do this.
• There are 4 levels of EDD representatives:

• • Tier 1 – cannot help you change problems and have limited access to your account. Will usually offer to put you on a “call back” list.
  • Tier 2 – have access to your account and can make some changes but you should ask for an adjuster if you have a complicated claim problem.
  • Adjusters – have access to your account and can resolve complicated claim problems. If they cannot assist, they are able to email a supervisor or let you know what is going on with your account or what you should/can do to resolve the problem.
  • Supervisors – have full access to your account and can resolve complicated claim issues but usually work behind the scenes on issues that adjusters can’t resolve.

• Please note that it is taking at least three weeks to process and pay when you file a new claim if your benefit year has expired and EDD staff cannot help accelerate this process. However, if it has been over three weeks since you applied, and you are asking when your claim will be paid and/or your claim payments on that new claim are still pending a week or two after certifying, you can ask if the EDD representative answering the call is a Tier 2 representative and that person should be able to help.
• And if you have a complicated claim issue, and have multiple weeks pending or another issue, it is best to ask for an adjuster when you call.

If you have filed a new claim but are missing payments:

You can check the date your claim was initially filed on your UI online homepage under “Benefit Year” on the right side of your claim summary. Your issue might be that there is a gap between when your old benefit year ended and when your new year begins.

Once you file your claim, you need to backdate your start date to the day after your benefit year ended. This is the only way to ensure you receive the missed payments between when your benefit year ended and when you started your new claim. For example, if my benefit year ended on March 22, 2021 and I filed a new claim on April 1, 2021, I would request to backdate my claim to March 23, 2021.

To backdate your claim, go to https://askedd.edd.ca.gov/, click on the category “Unemployment Insurance Benefits,” then click on the subcategory “Claim Questions,” then select the topic “Backdate the Effective Date of my Claim Due to COVID-19” and click “Continue” to fill out claim information and type “Backdate my claim to mm/dd/yyyy” in the space provided for the new claim to start immediately after the previous claim’s ending date.

These are just some of the tips my office has learned in the process of helping constituents access their benefits in the fastest manner possible. If you’ve tried these tips and still have not been able to contact the department or resolve your issue, please know that my office is here to help. You can call us at (818) 558-3043 or, even better, email us at Assemblymember.Friedman@Assembly.ca.gov.