Bay Area residents frustrated by issues with unemployment agency

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - As new numbers show more than 3 million Californians have now applied for unemployment, frustration continues to grow with the process and an inability to reach anyone at the state's Employment Development Department. 

Every day for the last month, Ebony Edgerson has followed the same routine: wake up, call EDD about the status of her unemployment insurance. “When I call EDD, I use 3 phones to call them, back to back to back, I feel like I’m calling the radio station trying to win concert tickets," said Edgerson. "I can’t get through, I’ve been doing this for a month.”

Ebony is just one of the dozens of people who've called or emailed KTVU, frustrated with EDD. Many say they can apply online but certain situations and questions can only be answered via phone. After filing in mid-March, Ebony still hasn't seen any money. “I have to borrow money from my sister just to get the gas to get to my mother’s so I can take my older kids so they can shelter in place in safe environment, so they don’t have to worry about, how are we going to eat?”

Skip Twitchell from San Rafael says he received his first payment after a month of waiting.  “The people who are a week or two behind me, good luck," said Twitchell. "It’s probably going to be at least another week or two because the massive volume. They have to send out 700,000 cards. How do you do that? “

In response to the staggering volume, the EDD moved more than 1,300 employees to answer phones and process claims. Last week, Governor Newsom announced the extension of phone center hours. Still, problems persist. California Labor Secretary Julie Su held a Facebook Live on Monday resonding to several frustrated people.  “If you’re sitting at home and you’re getting up two hours early and you’re getting your kids on the phone so you can have multiple lines calling in--it is not acceptable," said Su.  "It is not how we want to run California. It is not how we want the call center to work.”

Bay Area state senator Jerry Hill is the chair of the state's labor committee, which oversess the EDD. “It wasn’t capable of handling the number of calls, having the people could access the calls from one person to the next, more of a technical problem, then manpower," said State Sen. Hill. 

He wants people to know the office is moving as quickly as possible during this unprecedented moment. He says he is monitoring the problems closely and expecdts the techincal issues to be fixed. "We will make the adjustments and changes as necessary to meet the demand, and certainly make srue people aren't unnecessarily waiting for those all-important checks," said Hill. 

Workers' advocacy groups have also seen a surge in calls from people struggling with unemployment. Their advice? Apply online if you have access. If you don't, be patient and make sure you keep track of everything.  “Really document their attempts of trying to get through on the phone, if they haven’t been able to get through," said Carole Vigne, a lawyer with "Legal Aid at Work." "And absolutely that would be good cause and their claim should be back dated, it should be retroactive.”