Employment Development Department
reviews and complaints

I was approved for unemployment over 8 weeks ago I have 8 weeks pending that I certified for you can't reach anyone you can never get an explanation and you can never get your money i've been certifying for 8 straight weeks they're all sitting on pending i've been mailed the continued claim form nothing works I don't understand how this is acceptable and how you guys are allowed to just continue to do this with everything going on in the world right now there needs to be accountability for lack of leadership lack of empathy and just lack of work ethic you don't answer phones there's no way to contact.

I have been unemployed since 12/9/20. Opened my unemployment claim on 12/20/20. Had 2 interviews on 1/15/21 and 1/22/21. Review is still ongoing. I have no idea if and when I will receive the unemployment payment. The answer from EDD is formal and carries no specific info. This is the EDD's response:
Thank you for your inquiry. Claim is currently under review for pending weeks. Payment will be authorized as long as you qualify for unemployment benefits. If you have any additional questions regarding this payment please visit our website at EDD. ca.gov for more details.

Confirmation number for my latest Certification 20210124W1083197

I have certified for week starting on 1/03/2021 to 1/16/2021 on 1/17/2021 and my cert has been pending longer then 10 days and it's still pending and there should be no reason it's still pending becuz I do it the same way everytime. Also I have wrote a representative thru my edd account over 9 times and still no response or my account fixed. I'm about to go to the news becuz I have bills and I can't pay any of them and I'm getting late fees on top of that I need my money asap

My claim has been pending since November of last year and I have spoken to a edd specialist and techs everyday for a whole month of January to hear that they can't help me .It is the most difficult and challenging experience I have ever been through in my life, and I have been to prison, I am currently homeless and hungry so that is alot to say.I am considering stealing food in order to eat because I can't get the money from my claim that has 6 weeks already certified, and I have honestly worked for this insurance and now I am unable to get a valid reason why I I'm pending

1/22/2021

I have attempted numerous times to get through the re-certification process for EDD with the id.me portal without success.

Twice I have actually waited long hours to have a face to face meeting only for that meeting to be aborted at the last minute due to one of my documents being deemed unacceptable.

I have submitted:

California State Driver's License (front and back)
Social Security Card
Birth Certificate issued by San Francisco
Official mailing from the Social Security Administration

I have no other way to prove my identity. I do not get bank statements, utility bills, etc. via paper mail. Everything is done online now. The only mail piece I have with my name and address on it is from a Federal Agency and yet that is deemed unacceptable

I have been unable to speak with anyone or show my documents to a human being.

What can I do? Please help!

I filed for unemployment in October 2020, went thru the online verification and was told everything was good. I later received a notice to send in photocopies of identity verification - which I did.

Two weeks later received a notice that the docs I sent were not legible (but legible to me... hmmm). The letter mentioned that someone would contact me... that never happened.

I contacted EDD by phone and told that they would send an upload link to resubmit documents. Two days later... nothing. So, I called... the person on the phone had no history of a link being sent. He kindly sent another link and I sent in my documents and he instructed me to call back within two days - which I did.

The next person on I called was very unhelpful and only wanted to do the bare minimum. He tried to cut me off quickly and told me to wait another 7 to 10 days.

So, the next week I tried calling again. Day after day I could not get thru. Finally, on the fourth day, I was about to talk to someone. She was polite and very helpful. She said that her manager would get back to me by end of day or the next morning. Again... it didn't happen. So I called...

I once again received another guy that didn't really want to help. He tried to cut me off quickly and not let me speak. He was also telling me to wait. "I've been waiting since October, it's now January", I said. He didn't want to hear it. Being totally frustrated, I hung up on him and decided to call back on Monday.

Unfortunately, I've had to use unemployment a few times in my life because of layoffs but I've never experienced anything like this. The people there are getting really bad and they need to be fired. If someone has to wait 3 months for unemployment benefits it's just unacceptable. If 50% of the people on the phone do not want to help... it's unacceptable!

Whoever hired these people does not know how to interview. Never let a kid do a grown-ups job!

Please respond as to why legitimate claim recipients have abruptly stopped receiving payments with no prior notification or a means to verify identity! I continue to call and email and your office refuses to acknowledge communication. There are hundreds of thousands of legitimate non-fraudulent claimants not being paid creating unimaginable financial distress!
Please address this travesty immediately!
We are suffering! We can't feed our families! We can't keep a roof over our heads!
This is a very serious situation!

EDD has withheld my $300 federal unemployment checks for four weeks in 2020. Now they claim there is fraud on my account so have shut me down with no further payments of state UI (California). I had to register with ID. me. I did that and tried to upload my driver's license. They wouldn't accept the driver's license and insisted I send a selfie! I can't send a selfie. I have no smartphone. Just a cell phone from 2004 that does not take pictures. I will now be eliminated from their system for not being able to provide a picture within 10 days. No one ever answers my queries online nor by mail. Never available by phone. They want to find ways to eliminate people and find loopholes and squirrel holes to get people to fall off into so they can then eliminate them from their rolls.

I live in California and filed under the PUA program (as I am self-employed) back on March 18 of 2020. As my 2019 taxes were not due yet, I was instructed to upload tax documents from my 2018 return. I was awarded a claim and started receiving benefits. In early December I was sent an email and links to update my records for the 2019 tax year.

I clicked the link and uploaded the documents. Two weeks later benefits stopped without notice. Spent many hours getting through to customer service person 1, they said I would be sent a letter indicating what I had to.

They instructed me to call back if after several days I had not received anything. After several days, called back and after hours of trying to get through got customer service person 2 Person 2 said...I know just want needs to be done and an upload link will be sent along with what documents need to be sent. This time the issue was they wanted ID info and proof of residency etc. I understand completely and upload the necessary documents.

Several days go by and I see that the status of my claim is still in pending status. After hours of time to get through I speak with customer service person #3. I ask why everything is still on hold... She is able to see all the files I have uploaded and says everything checks out and I am in good shape pending the review of someone in the Accounting/identity integrity department. She gives me two phone numbers to use and indicates the accounting department has not viewed the material yet.

My beef is this...I am not the only one this has happened to, there are at least a million more like me (as stated in the news). If you are going to make additional labor for yourselves, you hire more people to do the job and you CERTAINLY don't shut down your phone system after only 4 hours of operation!

Rather than me trying to dial in a hundred or more times a day...how about auto-attendant takes your name and number in the order received and calls you back. Even if that means your call back time will be 3 days and 18 hours. Each of my attempts at dealing with EDD it has taken between one and three minutes of going through a labyrinth of button pushing, only to be told that the system can not process the call due to high call volumes.

I am now at 4 weeks of nothing. This is not the way to run a show. Unless it's a S Show!

I was receiving unemployment until 7/4/2020 when I received an inbox messages advising me to file a new claim because my benefits had been exhausted. At the same time I saw a message stating that the EDD would automatically search out claimants who exhausted their PEUC claims and add them the Fed-ed extension. Because I was unable to reach anyone by phone to determine which message was accurate, I submitted a new claim. The new claim was initially approved and then subsequently denied, so I filed an appeal. My appeal was Won per the Edd's own process by a judge on 9/4/2020. Yet EDD still has not updated my claim or made any corrections on my file. The last check I received was on 7/4/2020, so more than five months with 0 dollars. I have called 8 times and each time a representative states that they see the judges overturned decision, but they could ONLY send a message to someone higher up top make a correction. To date nothing has changed.

I had three surgeries and had to file an EDD claim as well as disability and answered a question wring still submitted my dates right and when trying to get info and clarify things with Dora she kept saying that I was interrupting her and she was very aggressive and seemed pissed. The whole call from jump. Nice to see that these are the type of people taking care of our benefits geez. They have no managers not ownership or accountability it's crazy that this is where our take money goes. This is my only outlet since she stated herself there is no one to call that is her superior no one to vet this call or how I was treated. She's asked for medical info that had nothing to do with my claims. I thought those days were over where we just forced to give out personal information. She seemed to relish that the call was not being recorded, I am in service and my calls are looked over because oversight is important so is transparency and looks like EDD has neither. Well guess I'm at the mercy of a person having a bad day. Hope I can buy food this week.

I have been receiving unemployment for months as of September I got on to certify benefits I was disqualified I called they sent a link to upload my identification documents told me it was excepted and the appeal would be lifted 6 weeks I called the EDD everyday they never told me I had to file an appeal now I'm in the appeal process they have refused to send me paper documents to certify for benefits for the time that I have not been paid while waiting for an appeal I call And can't get through or wait on hold for over an hour to be hung up on I send messages I get no responses I've told that A supervisor will call but they never call

I was transferred from [protected], I waited for hours to talk to a representative. I finally got through and the operator was disgruntled. He told me to drop my attitude after acting inappropriately. I told him after he started yelling at me, I am a US Veteran and I am going to report him to his employer. In fact, I don't know who he thinks he is, where he gets off, or who trained this person to be so disrespectful to people with a disability asking to get assistance and their form in order. Please respond or I will file a Congressional Complaint to the state.

I have 20 weeks of benefits pending and all it would take for me to be issued my payments is for a specialist to review my claim to see that a simple "okay" will lift the stop payment. I'm very much struggling with my finances and am seriously contemplating illegal actions to provide for my family. My name is Javier Macedo and my birthdate is 5/9/87.

my is john gholar
[protected]
11/06/1987
2708 w 141st pl apt 1 gardena ca 90249
[protected]
since july 5 2020 i have not gottem my unemployment benefits
i have submitted my id and proof of address numerous times. nothing has been done im getting evicted . edd ca is rude liars and reps hung up in my face they refuse to get supervisors on the phone. claim processing department refuses to take calls i mean theres no order theres no truth they treat u any kinda way they are not working fast enough i mean how hard is it to review an id and bill validate it and process my claim. im fed up i want it handled at once i want my identity verified and benefits reinstated.

My name is martin d ruiz the dep of e d d lock my acount and told me I need it to go to the banck and show my id wish I did dut know can get no one on the phone to help me om sat 9/'26/2020 whent to the bank I was told to call the edd to speak with risk dep and was onm the phone 3 hrs and no one help me.
On mon 9/28/2020 whent to the bank show my id again mand was put on hold when edd dep answer but no one come to the phone was on the phone on hold from 10:30am to 3:50pm the teller from the bank of america told me I had to leav cause they were closeing it was time for them to, go home she is my wittines.
I have been doing evrything they tell me and cant get no one to idenify my identy my acount has been lock for 2 weeks going on my 3rd week and no, one is helping me and thhis is my reson to seac help with some one else my phone number is [protected] if some one can take some time to help me thank u mand have a b less day ill keep waitting for help

Not working due to COVID-19 but still employed, I filed to receive unemployment assistance benefits from only 6/7/2020 to 8/5/2020. Received initial confirmation package detailing my weekly award amount. Created an UI online account and certified for all 10 weeks which are still pending. I've sent 6 emails of inquiry for which I received confirmation numbers with a promise for response in 5-7 days. I have also made dozens of calls, speaking to agents at least 10 times who promised a response within 7-10 days. I have received no communication from anyone at EDD since. I have not received the debit card as promised in the initial packet. I received no cash assistance. All of my fellow employees have received assistance with no issues except for a few of us. I would really appreciate some assistance.

I have contacted EDD on 5+ occasions. Each time I'm told that they have to have a specialist call me. I wait 10 days, no call, then I call again. This is getting nowhere. It's an endless loop where I am not being paid and no one is correcting the situation.

I am owed Federal Enhanced benefits for weeks ending: 5/16, 5/23, 6/6, 6/13, 6/20 and 6/27

I am owed regular State weekly benefits for weekend ending: 6/13 & 6/27

I was told that EDD processed the weeks listed above against a 2016 claim instead of my 2019 claim. I've been waiting months for this money and cannot get a Specialist on the phone to reprocess these week certs so that they get paid out correctly. EDD processed the week ending 5/30 with no problem but messed the other weeks up badly.

Honestly... All I have to say is, that the edd is cheating people out of their money, that is do to them. I have been trying to contact the edd for weeks as well, I was on unemployment when the pandemic hit... And still did not receive the extension. My understanding was that all americans where eligible for the extension, that had or has a job that was effected by covid 19, but apparently that is not the case.

If you notice, when you file a new claim and you get to the covid 19 section... There is no selection for if you where on unemployment, I believe that is where they have the opportunity, thru the system to cheat people out of their money. I even get emails from the edd that there are messages in my ui inbox, and I go to look at the message... But there are no messages, so what is happening here, is the edd sending out fraudulent
Messages as if they are communicating with clients... And then they disqualify you?

To me it seems only certain races got the extension, which is crazy... But it's the world we live in! I have been trying to get answers for months, rather its messages, emails and calls... I have been completely ignored!

I have filled my second discrimination and retaliation complaint yesterday, let's just see if I will be ignored from this department as well...
Everyone out there having issues as I am... File a discrimination and retaliation complaint asap... Stay tuned!