Unemployment

California's Employment Development Department got a much-deserved black eye for mismanaging unemployment insurance benefits during the pandemic. There's a lingering aspect to the meltdown, and it could cost the state billions.

California has plenty of existential issues. A chronic shortage of workers may have joined the list as public and private employers scramble to fill open positions.

From lost homes to mounting debt, workers from across the state share how they were impacted by payment delays, fraud panic and mass confusion about unemployment benefits.

There are plenty of examples California can emulate to fix its unemployment insurance system. The governor and Legislature just need to summon the courage to do it.

The EDD is getting a rebuild from the likes of Salesforce and Amazon as pandemic payment disputes drag on and fraud hits other state benefit systems. Workers, advocates and tech experts are hopeful, but wary.

Scammers pulled off one of the biggest suspected frauds in U.S. history while laid-off workers scrambled to survive. A CalMatters investigation finds that the EDD missed red flags and failed to make long-promised changes before the pandemic — and that once the twin crises hit, the state and its top contractors kept making money but were slow to deliver relief.

The state’s unemployment insurance debt, which ballooned as a result of the pandemic, is in dire straits with no clear path forward.

The recent squabble between Gov. Gavin Newsom and union leaders over unemployment insurance for striking workers renewed attention on the insolvent system that administers benefits.

Newsom announced on Saturday he vetoed two labor measures, one that would have given strikers unemployment benefits and another that would have made domestic work safer.

A bill that would extend unemployment benefits to workers on a strike exceeding two weeks is awaiting a signature from Gov. Gavin Newsom. A Hollywood writer argues that striking workers deserve benefits from a fund their labor helps support.