unemployment

Laptop with wrench and screwdriver on screen. The state's Employment Development Department has been besieged by technical glitches as it staggers under the weight of jobless claims. Image via iStock

WhatMatters

California’s jobless claims site crashes as backlog grows

Tech glitches have struck California’s beleaguered unemployment department once again. The Employment Development Department’s website was unable to process claimants’ information over the weekend and was still plagued with difficulties Monday. “Some customers are experiencing issues using these services,” a pop-up on EDD’s benefits registration webpage read Monday. “We’re working to restore service as soon […]

By

Emily Hoeven

• March 23, 2021

Assemblymember Rob Bonta announces the California Green New Deal Act at a press conference on opening day of the 2020 legislative session on Jan. 6, 2020. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

WhatMatters

Will Newsom appoint an Asian attorney general?

Good morning, California. It’s Thursday, March 18. Surge in anti-Asian hate Pressure is mounting on Gov. Gavin Newsom to appoint an Asian American or Pacific Islander attorney general amid a surge in anti-Asian harassment and violence, including Tuesday shootings in Atlanta in which a man killed eight people, six of whom were women of Asian […]

By

Emily Hoeven

• March 18, 2021

Coronavirus

Fewer jobs, more wine: California’s deadly COVID year in 9 charts

On March 19, 2020 Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a statewide shelter-in-place order. In response to an unprecedented public health threat, it was an equally unprecedented shuttering of day-to-day life. “This is not a permanent state,” Newsom assured us at the time. “This is a moment in time. And we will meet this moment together.” On […]

By

Jeremia Kimelman

and

Ben Christopher

• March 17, 2021

Santa Ana residents who were invited to a COVID-19 vaccination event by local school officials and community groups wait in line at Valley High School in Santa Ana on February 12, 2020. Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG

WhatMatters

Patients about to flood vaccine system — millions newly eligible

Today, millions of Californians will become eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, inundating a system already straining under the weight of limited supply, pervasive tech glitches, political infighting and general confusion. Originally, only Californians with disabilities and severe health conditions were set to become eligible for the vaccine today. But the state on Thursday expanded prioritization […]

By

Emily Hoeven

• March 15, 2021

Commentary

Labor protections needed for independent contractors

Providing independent contractors access to labor protections and benefits would help businesses comply with labor laws and spread costs more evenly.

By

Guest Commentary

• March 10, 2021

Politics

Fact-checking Gavin Newsom’s 2021 State of the State speech

As California's governor delivered his annual address — this time from Dodger Stadium — the CalMatters reporting team offered the following corrections, clarifications and context.

By

CalMatters Staff

• March 9, 2021

Bank of America is being sued for failing to provide sufficient protections for unemployment payment debit cards after thousands across California have fallen victim to fraud this year. Image via iStock

California Divide

California’s unemployment mess explained in 3 minutes

The latest CalMatters video offers a quick explanation of how California’s unemployment system went awry while struggling to confront unprecedented demand. As the pandemic left millions of Californians unemployed, prosecutors say scammers found many ways to defraud the state. The confusion derailed the unemployment system and left many people out of work to fend for […]

By

Byrhonda Lyons

and

Lauren Hepler

• March 9, 2021

A moving truck with COVID-19 aware messaging outside of an apartment building in Oakland on Nov. 7, 2020. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Economy

Bidding wars and overblown fears: The curious case of the California exodus

New moving data and intensifying housing bidding wars undercut fears of a California mass exodus. But some cities have been hit harder, and many rushed moves are difficult to track, obscuring COVID-induced migration.

By

Lauren Hepler

• March 4, 2021

A photo illustratio shows someone walking past a vacant building, hands on a computer keyboard, masks and a vaccine. In March of 2020, Californians had no idea how much a new coronavirus would upend their way of life. This timeline highlights pivotal moments in the state's struggle to defeat a pandemic. Illustration by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters; iStock

Coronavirus

Remember when? Timeline marks key events in California’s year-long pandemic grind

In early March 2020, an elderly man died in Placer County. Health officials ruled the Rocklin resident’s death to be a result of COVID-19 — the disease caused by a novel coronavirus that, to this point, had appeared in a handful of cases up and down the West Coast. The man, in his 70s with […]

By

Richard Procter

• March 4, 2021

OptumServe is opening vaccine clinics across California despite several counties expressing dissatisfaction with a vaccination pilot program and COVID-19 testing sites. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters

WhatMatters

Counties raise concerns as OptumServe gets bigger role in vaccination

Health care operations company OptumServe has quietly been assuming an ever-larger role in California’s pandemic response — including its vaccine rollout — despite numerous counties expressing dissatisfaction with its services. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday announced plans to open 11 OptumServe vaccination sites to serve “some of the hardest-hit or most at-risk communities” in the […]

By

Emily Hoeven

• February 26, 2021

Unemployment