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Workers denied pandemic-era jobless benefits are still struggling with debt and stress — collateral damage as they fight a state employment agency on edge about fraud and an appeals system facing a 'historic' backlog. What happens next with these and other legal battles will help decide who pays for a multi-billion-dollar debacle three years in the making.

California doesn’t really need 2,600 new laws, right?  Nevertheless, state lawmakers proposed 500 new bills on Friday, the 2023 session’s introduction deadline, bringing the total to about 2,600. That’s the most in more than a decade, according to veteran Capitol lobbyist Chris Micheli. More than 1,000 are “placeholder” bills without specific language. Reminder: More bills […]

California’s Employment Development Department struggled to keep up with the demands of the pandemic. But a potential recession isn’t likely to be as intense, and the department has made several changes that could smooth the process of getting benefits.

The state agency that handles unemployment benefits pursued lowering costs and hindering fraud over making it easy for workers to access benefits, a new report found.

Calls to California’s Employment Development Department disability insurance call centers surged to 12 times their normal volume in late 2021 and early 2022 as the department dealt with fraud. Many went unanswered, leaving some Californians in the lurch for months.

California's unemployment rate is improving, but inflation, sky-high prices and high interest rates threaten the state's economic recovery.

In a 75-minute interview with CalMatters, Ron Galperin, a Democrat running for California controller, touts his experience as city controller in Los Angeles. He pledges to bring some of his innovations statewide and calls homelessness an existential crisis.

Democrat Malia Cohen wants to expand the role of state controller and advance equity and diversity in the job. In an 80-minute interview with CalMatters, she says the state's COVID response proves the need to do better on both those goals.

In a 70-minute interview with CalMatters reporters, Lanhee Chen, the only Republican running for state controller, talks about his priorities and how he would work with Democrats in power.

California has almost $20 billion of debt from the surge in unemployment claims during the pandemic, more than any other state. One reason is California’s higher unemployment rate; another is that employer taxes haven’t kept up with increasing benefits. Now, employers will see an automatic tax increase to start paying off the debt, and Newsom has proposed spending $3 billion in state funds to reduce the debt.