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Congress cut it tight from unemployment benefits when it passed the US bailout, which extended benefits just days before their March 14 expiration date. President Biden signed the $ 1.9 trillion stimulus package on Thursday, guaranteeing that the benefits, which now include an extra $ 300 per week, will be extended through Labor Day.
Although the State Department for Employment Development had to overhaul its systems with all the intricacies of the new regulations, it said on Friday that people who received benefits for less than a year should automatically get l ‘extension.
But at the same time, EDD has two other big projects to take on. He has to deal with the very large number of people who have been unemployed for 12 months, which requires the filing of a new claim. It must also collect and verify documents from self-employed workers receiving Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) under new federal rules to stamp out fraud.
This could create a bottleneck at the state agency, which has struggled all year with soaring unemployment claims in the event of a pandemic.
Many people are approaching the 12-month mark as the gargantuan demand for unemployment benefits started a year ago this week and continued to reach all-time highs in April and May. After their reapplication, EDD must assess their situation and eligibility status to decide whether they should be covered by regular state unemployment or new federal benefits.
EDD initially gave an ambiguous answer as to how it will handle the situation before later saying it could add US bailout benefits for many claimants.
“We still need to schedule new changes to federal benefits into our system, including initiation and termination dates,” EDD spokesperson Loree Levy said Thursday. “So now that we have an idea of what is approved federally, we can seek advice from the United States Department of Labor and assess what will be needed to implement the new provisions.”
Lawmakers frustrated by the agency’s slowness gave simpler assessments.
“Given the difficulty of implementing the previous extension in December, I am worried,” said Assembly Member David Chiu, D-San Francisco, whose office is under siege by voters who have need help with their benefits. “I sincerely hope that EDD has learned from past experience and has a real plan to get people the benefits they are due without delay or hassle.”
To say the least, EDD does not have a good history of quickly implementing new features or dealing with a massive increase in demand.
Late last year, when benefits expired for just a day before being reinstated by the federal government on Dec. 27, EDD said a scheduling issue was preventing it from reinstating them for people whose benefits were exhausted before December 26. those affected, who numbered around 185,000, could begin certifying for extended benefits, leaving them without payment for nearly three months.
As executive director of the Sacramento Center for Workers’ Rights, Daniela Urban helps claimants struggling to get paid. “I hope EDD has anticipated this expansion and has a plan in place on how to implement it with minimum disruption or loopholes,” she said in an email.
Still, the fact that millions of people are celebrating their first anniversary of unemployment is worrying. “The backlog of claims is likely to grow, especially for claimants who may have difficulty filling out ID.me,” she said, referring to the external vendor who handles identity verification.
Andrew Stettner, a senior researcher at the Century Foundation who studies unemployment, said he was concerned there was a blockage on the streets in California and other states.
“I was impressed with the difficulty of these changes,” he said. “The load on these systems is high and they need to be careful when making changes.”
Some blame the federal government.
“Congress has not given sufficient time to state agencies,” Stettner said. “They are very proud of themselves that the president signed the bill two days before benefits expired. It’s not a lot of time.
Meanwhile, people already shaken by the vagaries of getting benefits are worried about what the latest changes might mean.
San Franciscan Matt Ruffin, 40, was already struggling to make ends meet with three jobs – as an assistant house manager at the Orpheum Theater, host at Equinox Sports Club and receptionist at Sharon Art Studio. When the pandemic started, he was fired from all three.
He was able to receive unemployment benefits until mid-December, when they suddenly ceased. He could have been part of the 1.4 million accounts frozen by EDD for suspected fraud, or among the 185,000 who could not recertify before March.
“There was no explanation from EDD as to why I wasn’t paid,” he said. “If they messed up or had a problem, they didn’t tell me.”
He spent hours calling EDD and was told repeatedly that everything was fine, but still not paid. State lawmakers also tried to help him, which earned him a week of benefits but the rest languishes.
In the meantime, he juggles bills and borrows money from friends and family. His $ 1,400 stimulus check will be used to pay the rent, “but at least I won’t have to borrow money this month,” he said.
“With the Stimulus Package, I’m concerned it could cause EDD issues, especially for people like my roommates or my brother or former coworkers who had avoided the first batch of problems,” Ruffin said. “I hope getting him signed before he lapses will prevent that from being the result, but I have lost all faith in EDD.”
Carolyn Said is a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @csaid
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