EDD – Faceless Bureaucracy

My husband John was laid off two months ago and is now an “unclaimed treasure”
(that is, he is on a job hunt). To help pay the bills between jobs, John signed
up for the first time for
Unemployment Insurance
with the California Employment Development
Department (EDD).

What is Unemployment Insurance in California?

Unemployment Insurance (UI) is a nationwide program created to provide partial wage replacement to unemployed workers while they conduct an active search for new work. Unemployment Insurance (UI) is a federal-state program, based on federal law, but executed through state law. Employers finance the UI program by tax contributions. In California, the EDD administers the UI program according to guidelines established by the UI Code and the California Code of Regulations, Title 22.

http://www.edd.ca.gov/Unemployment/

EDD appears to be a completely faceless bureaucracy. That is, there is no
person to call, no place to go to resolve problems. There
is only a phone number. John had a problem with his EDD paperwork
(he received two contradictory UI mailings on the same day and made the wrong
choice) and needed to talk with someone. It took three days of fifty to 100 calls
per day to 800-300-5616 to get someone from EDD on the phone. He called before 8 am and
heard the “We are not here outside of the following hours” message roll immediately
over to the “We are currently receiving more calls than our system can handle. Please
try again later” message. He redialed all day and heard the “Please try again later”
message roll over to the “We are not here” message promptly at 5 pm daily.

Only an EDD person on the phone can help with a UI problem. There are

EDD offices. EDD office staff only provide career and workforce services but
cannot resolve UI problems – they offer you a phone to call 800-300-5616.
Letters from the EDD feature a post office box address, no fax, no local number,
no names, only 800-300-5616 with alternate numbers for Spanish, Cantonese,
Mandarin, and Vietnamese.

Late yesterday afternoon, when John finally spoke with an EDD 800-300-5616
representative, the problem was sorted out promptly. The EDD woman scolded John
for his mistake but said since it was his first infraction, they would probably let it go
and not deny benefits. She went on to complain that there were so many callers
with all the people being unemployed that EDD was working nights, weekends, and
holidays. John gently pointed out that at least she had a job.