Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger took action today to assist California's unemployed by cutting through bureaucratic red tape for the state to better handle increased unemployment claims due to a down economy. The Governor's action will speed up services and benefits for the unemployed by expediting the hiring of approximately 1,150 additional staff to man call centers and cut down call-wait times, and will open up more resources to the state including the option of temporarily contracting out for services to better assist Californians.
"The economic slowdown continues to be felt around the world, across the country and here in California. This is exactly why my Administration has been moving aggressively to pump federal Recovery Act dollars into our state and implement the stimulus I signed in our state budget. But as the worldwide recession continues to affect more Californians, the last thing our state's unemployed workers need is a hard time accessing vital benefits. That is why I'm taking executive action today to open up more resources to help unemployed people file claims and to cut wait times to gain access to benefits and services.
"As President Obama said earlier this week, we are seeing some signs that we are on the right path, but as with all economic recoveries, the process will take time. I am committed to doing everything within my power to help Californians through this tough economic time and get our unemployed back to work."
To meet the increased need for unemployment insurance benefits, the Employment Development Department (EDD) can immediately begin to increase capacity to file claims through hiring additional personnel, borrowing personnel and office space from other state departments and contracting out for call center operations and other services.
EDD aims to increase the number of staff answering phones in call centers by 300 in the next two weeks with additional hiring in the coming months to significantly decrease call wait times. This is in addition to the 850 staff EDD is currently in the process of hiring through increased federal administrative funding.
Under the Governor's leadership, California was one of the first states to get an additional $25 per week for the unemployed under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act). The Governor has also signed legislation to extend unemployment benefits an additional 20 weeks to help Californians that are out of work and, thanks to swift action taken by the Governor's Administration, an additional $415 million in federal Recovery Act funds were made available to immediately help unemployed Californians with job training and job placement.
For those interested in applying for the EDD positions, information is available on the EDD Web site at www.edd.ca.gov or at any of the local one-stop centers throughout the state. Hiring is currently being done in several major areas of the state including San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange County, Inland Empire, San Jose and Sacramento.
The Governor's Administration has also taken the following steps to help respond to unemployment claims:
- Opening Call Centers from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays, already allowing more than 26,000 customers reach agents over the last four weekends
- Opening 26 EDD Workforce Services Offices on Saturday to coincide with the Call Center hours and provide access to computers and phones to reach UI representatives
- Extend call center hours to be open an additional hour every weekday
- Staff overtime to process applications and claim forms and maintain timely payments
- Automatic filing of federal extension claims for those who run out of their regular UI benefits, eliminating the need for customers to re-contact EDD
- Enhanced Web site information to make it easier to start and manage your UI claim, and submit questions about claims online
Governor Schwarzenegger also worked to ensure powerful economic stimulus measures were included in the 2009-10 budget such as:
- Public-private partnership and design-build authority
- A $10,000 home-buyer tax credit
- A "new hire" tax credit
- An elective single sales factor corporate income tax
- Employee schedule flexibility
For a full list click here.
Click here to read the Governor's proclamation.
