Gov. Gavin Newsom reassured Californians that a faster, streamlined process to file for unemployment is on the way, acknowledging that the Employment Development Department’s (EDD) out-of-date technology and infrastructure have contributed to a massive backlog of claims.
The EDD released a report on Saturday announcing it would dedicate the next two weeks to an agency-wide reset to make it easier for eligible Californians to apply for and receive unemployment benefits. The department will pause accepting new claims until Oct. 5.
Newsom said that significant delays in processing claims are not a problem unique to California, and outdated technology is in no small part responsible for the trouble. âAs a nation, we have a huge IT problem,â he said.
The agency plans to launch a system called ID.me to automatically verify the identity of a claimant. The hope is the changes will make it easier for newcomers to file claims, mitigate fraud and help the department work through a backlog of some 1.6 million cases.
Meanwhile, Newsom said Californiaâs COVID-19 numbers continue to drop. The current seven-day average positivity rate has fallen to 2.8% even as the state continues to expand testing. The number of tests performed dropped significantly during the heat waves, smoke and fires earlier in September, but they have since rebounded.
Newsom expects to see the number of tests increase as the state works towards building out a testing lab and reaching the goal of delivering test results in 24 to 48 hours. California has also seen a fourteen-day average 23% drop in hospitalizations and a 25% drop in ICU admissions.
â Nina Sparling (@nina_spar)
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