#PayThePending #FixtTheGlitch
At the start of the pandemic, thousands if not millions of workers in CA were laid-off due to forced closure of their workplaces. Many laid-off workers have been trying to access the benefits that exist because of the labor that they’ve provided, however many of them have not been successful due to EDD’s outdated systematic failures. The Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, always likes to say that we live in a so-called “tech-state-nation” and I honestly cannot tell by the performance that EDD has given as well as some other state agencies like the DMV, an agency that will soon also have its own blog post on this site. Seriously though, I’d laugh if so many weren’t suffering because of the systematic failures of agencies that are meant to benefit the general public! Allegedly, at this very moment, EDD has some sort of system glitch that is causing THOUSANDS of accounts to go without benefits/extensions and even if you do get ahold of an EDD support rep, there is nothing they can do because the issue is a tech-related issue that has been going on for months but hasn’t been fixed!
But let’s focus, having trouble accessing benefits that you’re owed?? Take some of these steps below, they could help you get your benefits;
- Contact your state Assemblymember, Senator, and/or Governor. You can find who your Assemblymember or Senator is by using this site here: http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/. If for some reason you don’t have an assembly member or the one that you reach out to doesn’t offer assistance with EDD, just find another assemblyperson from the next city over and document who didn’t help so you can vote them out! When contacting the Governor via his website, select “get help” and choose “Employment Development Department” from the drop-down menu https://govapps.gov.ca.gov/gov40mail/. Your Assemblymember WILL ask you for personal information so they can discuss your case with EDD.
- Next, let’s say for whatever reason you’re not able to get assistance from those mentioned above. If those don’t work, try asking a mediator from your county to assist with your case. This is a step you can take before pursuing legal action. For example, are you located in LA County??? If so, you can go on the county website and ask a mediator to step in and assist with a resolution that resolves your issue with EDD. Like those mentioned above, the mediator will ask for personal information usually via email so they can speak with EDD on your behalf. Avoid fraud and make sure you’re always responding to an @ DOT GOV website. If you’re not in LA county, simply google your county website to see if they offer mediator services. https://iddweb.isd.lacounty.gov/dca_ecomplaint/
- This next step requests that you submit a claim form with the Department of General Services www.dgs.ca.gov/Government-Claim. The DGS asks that you allow the state agency to respond within 45 days. In my opinion, most laid-off workers have already been waiting for over 45 days and EDD is in violation of its own policy guidelines, it’s time to hold someone accountable! Some workers have returned to work but there were months that they went without pay as they were looking for new work, as they were calling EDD, and as they were still dealing with day-to-day living/family issues that many of us have. (text from county website; “Before you can sue the government or a public agency, you must first file a claim for damages with them”. DGS is that claim form.) See pg. 15 on https://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/small_claims/small_claims.pdf
- Here’s some info that I found online about how to file a lawsuit. Let’s say again that you are in LA County, the county website provides information on how you can file a small claims lawsuit and it will also provide you the claim form https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/sc100.pdf (“In general, claims are limited to disputes up to $5,000. However, natural persons (individuals) can claim up to $10,000). If you’re asked to pay a fee for the form, you might be able to request a fee waiver. The complaint form is self-explanatory, don’t forget to make copies of the form. Check to see if your court allows online e-filing. If you’re not residing in LA County, google your county website for similar info as shown at the web links below https://dcba.lacounty.gov/portfolio/suing-the-government-or-a-public-agency/ https://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/small_claims/basic_info.shtml http://www.lacourt.org/division/efiling/efiling2.aspx http://www.lacourt.org/division/efiling/efiling2.aspx.
Also, if you do get ahold of an EDD rep over the phone and they can’t help you, and I know this is going to be hard, but please don’t explode on them! It won’t help your situation and EDD’s failed system is a result of a lack of accountability from our elected officials, they’ve known for a long time now that the EDD system is outdated! I do think that EDD should have contracted meditators & other licensed professionals to work out of local EDD offices in order to assist claimants with their benefits. The fact that a laid-off worker can’t go into a local office in their city to get assistance is absolutely crazy! The office building exists for a reason and during a pandemic, it should be able to schedule appts even if they are virtual to help local laid-off workers. What’s even crazier to me is the last head of EDD actually got promoted even though billions of dollars in fraud was given away under their watch, money that should’ve gone to laid-off workers! Some of the fraud was some of the most basic types of fraud a person could commit aka they should’ve been easy to catch. Anyway, I hope this blog can help some of you, leave any comments or questions below, I will try to respond to them as quickly as I can! Good Luck and don’t give up! Please stay calm, I know so many laid-off workers are beyond stressed.
Remember, unemployment benefits exist because of your LABOR! Some workers have been working for years and they have never once used their unemployment benefits. The agreement for unemployment benefits is in place for a reason and it is a promise to workers that if they were ever laid off, there would be assistance for them. The state and many of its businesses were forced CLOSED, many of those businesses are still closed, you are allowed to request the benefits that your labor earned, and please, don’t let anyone make you feel like you don’t deserve them! We’ve bailed out large corporations, surely we can bail out the working class! I hear people screaming “Get Back to work” and I keep thinking why??? Our elected officials haven’t held up their end of the deal, most of the jobs I see pay so low they don’t cover the basic costs of living in CA anymore! Get back to what exactly?? Underpaid slave labor that has us working 2 and 3 jobs just to eat and sleep in our cars??? We can’t allow public services to be intentionally faulty so the establishment can find an excuse to privatize our resources & other basic needs, which is what the establishment often does even though the public systems are faulty because of intentional negligence, with a hope that the “service” can be sold to some “think-tank” who has the answers to all our needs!
Along with the steps I mentioned above, you can contact these foundations to see if they can offer any additional information;
https://legalaidatwork.org/
https://www.rightscenter.org/services/ (if you are based in Sacramento)
(Blog is informational only and is not offering any legal advice, non-attorney.)
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