Written by: Sasha Reva
It is ironic that as many Californians are about to celebrate Labor Day weekend, their unemployment benefits will be either reduced or cut off. It is happening because the federal government decided to end four critical programs helping people throughout the pandemic. According to the state Employment Development Department, 2.2 million of the 3 million Californians receiving unemployment insurance will entirely lose their benefits.
This cutoff will primarily affect two groups of people. The first one is the self-employed (who cannot receive unemployment insurance), and the second one is those who have already used up their benefits and are still unable to find a job.
Other Californians will not be getting a $300 weekly supplement from the Biden administration. About 19,000 people have signed a petition asking Newsom and state lawmakers
to extend pandemic jobless benefits.
Voters are concerned about their EDD benefits, leading to a voter bloc in the September 14th recall election. On September 11th, another program will end: a 13- to 20-week extension of
unemployment benefits beyond the traditional 26-week cutoff. Also, on September 30th, California’s eviction moratorium is set to expire.
The unemployment rate is growing, and our governor continues to ignore problem after problem. The EDD has caused frustration to many Californians. It has easily been one of Newsom’s most prominent political liabilities. The EDD is representative of both a scandalous system run by a disgraceful governor.
Photo from: ABC 7
