Edd: There are 1.4M unemployment fraud cases: one month to fix

California’s 1.4 million unemployment fraud cases could require one month to resolve, a key state lawmaker says, in a grim revelation that brings fresh pain to California workers reeling from an unprecedented numbers of layoffs amid the coronavirus.

The state Employment Development Department’s quest to combat fraud woes in its program to pay jobless claims has also forced some California workers to restart jobless claims from scratch after their accounts were flagged for possible fraud, creating even more challenges for people who have lost their jobs while the deadly virus rages on.

EDD officials, in a discussion with state Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, have sketched out a timeline for resolving the status of the 1.4 million unemployment claims that the EDD says could be connected to fraudulent activity. Payment on the claims has been suspended while the fraud investigation continues.

California workers might have to wait a month for payments to resume if their benefits were suspended due to concerns the accounts were linked to fraud.

“It could take up to a month after people verify their I.D.,” Gonzalez said in an interview. “Hopefully it can get done within 30 days.”

To make matters worse for the EDD, the state agency is wrestling with a mammoth backlog of unpaid jobless claims.

Plus, a broken call center and glitch-hobbled webpage have snarled the EDD’s efforts to pay legitimate claims filed by California workers who have lost their jobs.

“This is a multi-level problem for California workers,” said Gonzalez. “It’s got to be frustrating for them.”

Probes of the EDD’s woes and blunders could occur this year if the state Legislature holds oversight hearings regarding the state agency’s actions.

The EDD didn’t respond to a request from this news organization to comment about the situation.

Gonzalez could play a key role in EDD oversight. She is the chair of the powerful state Assembly Appropriations Committee.

“The EDD will have to answer a lot of questions come budget time,” Gonzalez said. “I’m just frustrated. I really want to encourage the EDD to start being very transparent with people.”