California EDD faces surge in claims as residents struggle to get benefits

By CBS Bay Area

California’s unemployment rate remains among the highest in the nation as more residents turn to state benefits for financial support — but some say they’re struggling to get help from the agency responsible for processing those claims.

At a California Employment Development Department office near the Oakland Coliseum, people seeking assistance with disability, parental leave, and other benefits described waiting hours in person, sometimes without knowing whether they would even be seen.

David Heard, who lives about 25 miles east of Oakland in San Ramon, said he has been relying on disability benefits since a car accident in March.

“I got in a car accident back at the end of March and broke my back in eight places,” Heard said.

He works as a service manager at a local car dealership, but said his financial situation has become increasingly difficult because his disability payments have stopped.

“I haven’t got a disability check since July 8th, and I can’t get anybody on the phone. There’s no option to talk to a person,” he said.

Heard went to the EDD office in person Friday, where he waited for several hours while wearing a medical brace.

“It’s not comfortable with this thing on,” he said.

“Do you know how much longer its going to be?” this reporter asked.

“No, and I may not even get seen today, that’s the crazy part,” he said.

Other people at the Oakland office reported similar frustrations. Blythe Conner said she waited hours just to reset her password.

“It’s ridiculous. The wait is like three hours long,” Conner said.

Guadalupe Armandariz said she spent the day waiting after her son drove her to the EDD office following carpal tunnel surgery.

“It’s takes forever,” she said. “They have only two people … to help a lot of people.”

EDD spokesperson Greg Lawson acknowledged the agency is experiencing a backlog.

“We’re seeing more and more activity with our disability and paid family leave program,” Lawson said.

He said the agency was hit with an unexpectedly large wave of applicants at the beginning of August, adding to existing pressure on the system.

California’s unemployment rate stands at 5.2%, consistently higher than the national rate. Former EDD Director Michael Bernick, now an attorney with Duane Morris, said the state’s labor market remains highly competitive.

“There’s not a lot of hiring. Not a lot of layoffs but not a lot of hiring, and we’re in a very competitive region,” Bernick said.

Lawson said the Oakland office has been dealing with what he called a “perfect storm,” including increased demand and a recent transition to a new forms-processing system.

“We’re moving to offer more counter space,” Lawson said. “We’re actually hiring 300 new people to help with the demand, and so we have — some of those people will be online in the next few weeks.”

For Heard, who says he is still waiting on a disability check that is about a month late, that relief cannot come soon enough.

“You’re a state agency. You should have knowledge and you should have managers who know what’s going on and can anticipate,” Heard said.