California’s Employment Development Department (EDD) is still struggling with technical issues. The EDD is no stranger to computer glitches, this has been an ongoing struggle since July of 2020; and a problem current governor Gavin Newsom said he would solve that September.
As thousands of Californians were still trying to use the site this week, they were greeted with a pop-up notification that read “We’re working to restore service as soon as possible”.
Democratic officials have been claiming that around 500,000 people have been able to get through and access their claims. However, the number of unprocessed claims has reached a whopping 1 million.
Is the matter getting worse? This seems to be the case, given the number of unresolved claims still doesn’t include the thousands of unemployed individuals who’ve been out of work for the last year. The EDD predicts that it will take roughly from April 10-April 30 to certify the unemployment benefits that the president has signed this month.
“Is it Down Right Now?” is now being used by frustrated Californians determine whether the EDD’s services are up and running or not. The website consists of threads of comments from people who describe their struggles with the EDD site.
One woman remarked how it took nearly 100 calls to finally get through to a representative, just for her to be turned away due to the representative not being able to access the system either.
The majority of the issues that lawmakers are having are with the EDD. Republican Assemblywoman Suzette Martinez Valladares said her office is swamped with thousands of calls every single month regarding problems with the department. Democratic lawmakers have even chimed in on the inadequacy of the EDD.
