Gavin Newsom defends pause on new unemployment claims: ‘I didn’t want to wait another day.’

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday defended his decision to halt his unemployment agency’s enrollment of new claims for two weeks, saying it would ultimately allow the state to more quickly process benefits as it struggles with a massive backlog.

About 1.6 million Californians are currently waiting for their unemployment claims to be processed, officials announced Saturday night when they released a report Newsom had called for detailing problems at the Employment Development Department.

The backlog is growing by at least 10,000 claims per day during the COVID-fueled recession despite efforts to hire thousands of people at the unemployment agency, the report found.

In response, the department will not accept new unemployment claims for two weeks while it overhauls its system.

“We worked through the weekend to do just that,” Newsom said during a Monday press conference, acknowledging the unusual timing of the report release. “I didn’t want to wait another day to start this reset.”

The reset will involve adding anti-fraud technology and an automated process for new applications. It will also make it easier for Californians to access the system on mobile devices, Newsom said.

During the two-week pause, people who want to file new claims will be asked to provide contact information to the state. Employment Development Department Director Sharon Hilliard said that they will be contacted when claim processing restarts.

Newsom says the pause aims to ensure the new applications are processed faster. Until the reset, about 40 percent of claims were processed manually. After the reset, most of those will be automated.

“This is about getting a check in their hand much faster,” said Government Operations Secretary Yolanda Richardson, who helped lead the strike team.

The report drew rebukes from Republicans who argued that Newsom has not done enough to address the problems. Sen. John Moorlach, R-Costa Mesa, said pausing intake of unemployment claims is “unacceptable.”

“The private sector would work on parallel tracks – use business hours to meet the needs of customers and the nonbusiness hours to reboot and modernize the internal systems,” Moorlach wrote in a statement. “The state that’s the center of the global computer industry should be at the forefront of service, not the end.”

The reset comes as the department is handling a tsunami of new unemployment claims driven by the coronavirus pandemic and the economic shutdown as officials try to curtail the virus’ spread. The state’s unemployment rate is about 11.4%, with roughly 2.1 million Californians out of work last month, according to the department.

Since March, the department has paid more than 12.6 million unemployment benefit claims, according to the report, but the need has still outstripped the department’s capabilities.

State Senate Republican Leader Shannon Grove noted that some people have been waiting for unemployment checks from the Employment Development Department since March.

“The constant delays and failures at the EDD highlight Governor Gavin Newsom’s inability to properly prepare for shutting down California’s economy,” the Bakersfield Republican wrote in a statement. “The delays, lack of transparency from the Governor, and mismanagement at the EDD are not only disappointing, but they are insulting to the California families who so desperately need this help.”

Officials aim to “substantially” address the backlogged claims in the next 90-100 days, Newsom said.

In the longer term, Newsom says he plans to completely redo the department’s antiquated computer system, which critics have blamed as the root of the department’s problems.

This story was originally published September 21, 2020 at 3:21 PM with the headline "Gavin Newsom defends pause on new unemployment claims: ‘I didn’t want to wait another day.’."