FOX 2/KTVU
By Lisa Fernandez
With video report by Rob Roth
...California's 40 million residents do have somewhere to turn to for help: State legislators all receive funding to hire temporary staff dedicated to helping their constituents with EDD problems, including a personal liaison to the unemployment agency.
No one is tallying exactly how many people have called their legislative offices, which includes both the Assembly and Senate.
But Assemblyman Phil Ting's San Francisco office has received, and cleared, more than 2,000 cases in the last 16 months, alone...
"Government is supposed to be there for its people, especially now when they need help the most," Ting said. "Based on that metric alone, EDD has failed to deliver. I’m frustrated that EDD was not prepared for the volume of claims brought on by the pandemic more than a decade after the Great Recession, which should have identified needed improvements for the department. Ongoing delays have had real life consequences."
State Sen. John Becker, (D-Menlo Park) said his office has dedicated three to four employees to help constituents navigate the complicated governmental bureaucracy – something that a legislator is supposed to do.
"What's been unusual," Becker said, "is the volume of requests and the amount of staff time that has to be directed to helping with EDD."