Kaiser workers to get bonus; EDD claims backlog rises
Kaiser Permanente and 85,000 of its unionized employees have reached an agreement to pay workers a “hero’s bonus” in recognition of the dangers they face dealing with COVID-19 patients.
The health care giant has annual performance incentive plans and bonus programs in place for the vast majority of its employees — more than 190,000 — but those are based on the company’s ability to deliver quality care and increase the number of patients it serves.
This year, the more than 190,000 employees, including 85,000 workers represented by the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, will receive a one-time reward in recognition of their work during the pandemic.
The bonus will be paid in late March or early April. Amounts will vary across employee categories and location. An average bonus will be about 3% of an employee’s gross annual earnings, Kaiser said.
Kaiser also agreed to extend COVID-19 paid-leave benefits through March 31 for workers who contract the virus or are exposed and must isolate themselves. The company will continue child care grants to help defray employee costs through April 3.
Employees who work 32 hours a week or more at a Kaiser facility will be eligible for a grant of $200 per week to pay for child care for children age 14 or younger, as well as disabled, dependent children.
— Kevin Smith, staff writer
EDD backlog grows again
The backlog of unpaid unemployment claims is rising again, grim tidings for workers ahead of the Christmas holiday.
As of Dec. 16, an estimated 683,200 California workers were in limbo, waiting for their payments from the state Employment Development Department, which has battled to whittle away a mammoth backlog of claims.
The most recently reported backlog is an increase of 12,500 compared with Dec. 9, when an estimated 670,700 California workers were stuck in the EDD’S logjam.
The overall backlog is made up of a combination of unpaid initial unemployment claims and unpaid continuing claims, according to statistics posted by the EDD.
The initial unemployment claims backlog totaled 370,300 as of Dec. 16, an increase of 13,800 from Dec. 9, the EDD reported.
The backlog for continuing unemployment claims was 312,900 on Dec. 16, a decrease of about 1,300 from the prior week.
During four of the five most recent weeks, the overall claims backlog has increased. That suggests the EDD is once again falling behind in keeping up with payments.
— George Avalos, staff writer
3 charged in EDD fraud cases
Federal prosecutors have charged three women — a former state labor agency worker, a prison inmate and a parolee — in a scheme to defraud California’s unemployment insurance system, investigators said Dec. 17.
A Roseville woman who is a former employee of the state Employment Development Department, a female inmate at a state women’s prison, and a woman who is a parolee have been charged with multiple fraud schemes linked to unemployment benefits in California, government attorneys said.
The charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sacramento, were filed against:
• Andrea M. Gervais, 43, of Roseville. The former EDD worker, who was fired, filed an estimated 100 fraudulent claims. In at least one instance, Gervais filed a claim using the identity of U. S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D- Calif.
• Sholanda Thomas, 36, an inmate at Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla.
• Christina Smith, 37, a state parolee. Thomas and Smith were accused of filing false unemployment benefits claims under the guise of being “hairstylists” and “barbers,” according to the charges.
Bank of America said in early December that California likely paid at least $2 billion in fraudulent unemployment benefits during hte pandemic. The $2 billion estimate is less than 2% of the $110 billion California has paid in unemployment benefits since March.