Coronavirus: Key EDD unit for unemployed workers is available four hours each weekday

May 4--A growing number of unemployed workers laid off amid the coronavirus shutdowns who have battled to obtain jobless payments were disappointed to learn a key state government unit that was supposed to help them is available just four hours every weekday.

Gov. Gavin Newsom and his labor agency aides have touted the state government's success in ramping up the mostly unresponsive call center and glitch-ridden computer networks for the Employment Development Department.

In the wake of state and local orders shelter in place orders shutting down non-essential business to help battle the coronavirus, the EDD has been buried under an avalanche of inquiries and requests from workers who have lost their jobs.

The governor and other state administrators have promoted the notion that the EDD call center now operates from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week -- but they haven't been as forthcoming that crucial EDD experts who can actually file an unemployment claim and give detailed answers take calls just four hours a day on weekdays.

Veronica Martinez, a Richmond resident who for more than a month was out of work from her job at Marin General Hospital, never heard from the EDD about her unemployment claim. During the weeks she was unemployed, Martinez also didn't receive jobless payments.

"The state government has completely failed me and failed a lot of other people," Martinez said. "This has really taught me a lesson about government."

The governor, during a recent daily news briefing, described a steadily improving EDD phone bank and computer system. About 1,940 state workers are now staffing the EDD's Unemployment Insurance unit, up from 740 in early March.

"We are sort of holding our own and pushing back against the tide of understandable and legitimate frustration that we have a responsibility to address," Gov. Newsom said.

Several workers, including Martinez, described days or weeks of attempting to reach the EDD at the two primary phone numbers widely publicized by the EDD: 866-333-4606 and 833-978-2511. Martinez said she finally reached a live person at one of the numbers and for a few moments thought her questions would be answered. But the EDD staffer Martinez managed to reach didn't have access to her account and instead directed Martinez to phone a third number, 800-300-5616.

When Martinez -- and several others seeking unemployment payment updates who were interviewed by this news organization -- contacted the 800-300-5616 number, they learned it was being answered only from 8 a.m. to noon, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.

The EDD jobless experts "process unemployment insurance claims in the afternoons to help us remain timely with payments," said Loree Levy, an EDD spokesperson.

"We recognize we have a lot more work to do," Gov. Newsom said at a recent briefing.

EDD officials said they now offer at the website and on the agency's Facebook page a "chat-bot" to answer some common questions.

"We continue to strategize daily on other tactics we can take as things evolve to better serve Californians who are counting on us to provide benefits quickly," Levy said.

The EDD's 866-333-4606 number is a 24/7 automated response line with information on items such as how to file a new claim, reopen an old claim, and an individual's last payment.

The "general support line" at 833-978-2511 is with staffed with real people from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week to answer "common questions" such as resetting account passwords or setting up a new contact email.

The "unemployment insurance claims support line" at 800-300-5616 is staffed by experts who can answer specific questions such as when payments might begin, payment amounts, or why a claim was denied or adjusted -- and that line is open only from 8 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.

"It just seems so pointless to try to reach the EDD," said Barbara Jordan, an Orinda resident who has attempted for more than a week to contact EDD staffers. "It's just such a grim situation."

California's ranking as the world's fifth-largest economy serves as an ironic counterpoint to the EDD's flagging efforts to serve unemployed workers, in Jordan's view.

"I just can't accept the concept that California has such a large economy with all these tech companies, and they can't answer the phones," Jordan said. "Can't we just deal with the little people first?"

Martinez did have a fortunate outcome at her hospital office job in San Rafael. Alarmed by Martinez's plight, her boss restored her hours, and Martinez resumed work a few days ago.

In Martinez's view, the claims by state officials led her to believe she could reach someone at the EDD during those 12 hours a day to answer her questions. Martinez believes state officials haven't been fully forthright about the real level of EDD accessibility.

"It's not the truth when they say the EDD is available all those hours," Martinez said. "They can't help you."

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