Expects it could be 25 , maybe even up to 30 unemployment here in california. So obviously your task here is massive. So many people to help. But i want to start with this, which is you do have jobs. Youre hiring right now, right . Absolutely. The way that were fundsed for the Unemployment Insurance program is funding is low when unemployment is low, like it was at a record low just a couple of months ago in february. And then suddenly we had this massive surge, this avalanche. So now were getting some additional federal funding for the administration of our program and with that we can do a massive hiring effort. Were kind of getting the assistance from the state department of human relations and hr and so hopefully well be able to do a lot of big hiring very quickly. All right. And you know labor secretary julie sue said the department was really ramping up the ability to help people. Topping that list is the need for the call center to be responsive. We are still getting comments from people saying ive tried for hours, i cannot get through. Is that a unique experience or is it actually much more common than you would like it to be . You know, its much more difficult than we would like it to be. We all wish we are working extremely long, exhausting hours because we do care so much about trying to get people information in the midst of this truly historic event. And its just a matter of math, unfortunately. You know, we just only have a couple thousand people. Weve been redirecting people to assist us throughout State Government. To handle millions and millions of calls, we had need Something Like 20,000 more. Its just such a demand we cant meet on the phone but were doing a lot of Different Things to assist us with that. Were trying new technologies like a chat bot to help people get answers to their common questions. Were putting more and more people on our phone lines to get additional training that can truly help people with more specific claim information. We continue to do massive hiring efforts. We continue to even put in place some good self help tools and Video Tutorials so people can get some help to get the information they need and not necessarily have to wait to talk to somebody on the phone. So lets talk about the math. Youre saying you have a few thousand people right now working to answer millions of claims, but you are hiring, to hire more people to be call center folks, right . Thats what youre doing. Absolutely. I mean that is one of our goals is to do a massive hiring effort. Were talking several, several hundred people here. Its changing and evolving every day, so the numbers always change every day as well. Weve already started off with more than 1,300 people kind of redirected to assist us and were adding to that with this massive hiring effort. Are you hiring people from out of the state of california . Im reading some reports of people saying that appears to be the case and people are you know, the operators, their cell phones are dropping off. So thats another point of frustration. Well, no, actually were hiring people from right here in california. We have redirected people from throughout edd as well as throughout State Government here in california to assist us to help us bridge the gap between very low unemployment and now trying to do this massive hiring effort. We did bring in some vendior assistance with trained call center staff. I dont have any details about where those people are but anybody on our call lines does go through mandatory california Unemployment Insurance training so we can lend a good hand to those who call. Got it. Lets get to some viewer questions. Cassie garcia wants to know why are so many people in the wrong boat with the incorrect Social Security being you were breaking up. A lot of people incorrect ones and then, you know, with the errors not able to get through. You know, i think a couple of things. Number one, we are finding that some people before you go and you submit your application when youre online, make sure you go back and double check your information to make sure its true and correct before you hit submit. Were hearing from some people, oops, i didnt do this or that. Mistakes do happen. So were trying to get information out there by which if you do receive a notice with us and dont agree with the information thats stated there that says, hey, this is what we have, is this correct, we do encourage you to write what is correct in your mind and then send it back to the address thats on that notice. In addition, you can certainly call or you can use some of our selfhelp tools available on our accounts for people but thats another way that people can fix a mistake. Pam wants to know my husband is claiming benefits but fortunately is back to work. But edd still paid him via his debit card even though he didnt submit another claim. How does my husband give that money back . Well, a good question because we went through a period of time where we were auto certifying for people. In plain terms its once you initiate a claim with your application and thats approved, you then move into whats called continuing claim status. Every two weeks you have to certify to the edd, answer some basic questions, which says, yes, im unemployed and remain eligible for benefits. Were able to do that automatically for some people for a period of time to help alleviate some of the load on our online system. For the most part when you get to the certification, that twoweek certification, you can note that youve returned to work and then we get that information and we can help you wrap up your claim it is payments for now. A question, when will peuc be ready . The pandemic unemployment compensation. When will that be ready . One of the provisions was to pay people an additional 600 in stimulus payments for any week that they qualify for, either on the regular Unemployment Insurance program or the pandemic Unemployment Insurance. So those are two federal provisions. The third one of course is that 13week extension of benefits on a regular Unemployment Insurance claim. Fortunately here in california weve already implemented the first two. That extension were actually getting out a news release this afternoon with what the plan is for rolling that out. It is very complex. We just got some guidance last night from the federal government in terms of how its meant to be operating. We believe we can announce later today exactly how that can roll out and we encourage people check for the very latest on our website. Whats the estimated timeline, though . We believe that were going to be able to start getting the first phase of this extension in place by the 27th of may and so we are encouraging people to watch for exactly how thats going to work. Well get details out there on our website and well continue to make sure people get the very latest. Terry says my contract job ended in september and in spite of applying for lots of jobs i havent found one. So im out of benefits and cant reapply until september but hes thinking he should be eligible from what hes reading but the site wont allow me to file a new claim and keeps sending me round and round in circles. What to do . Most of the time when were not in an emergency pandemic like this, you get a claim thats good for 12 months. So when you initiate a claim, its good for 12 months and you have that period of time to collect up to 26 weeks of benefits, depending upon when you are working or when you are not. So if youre still within that 12month time frame, the system will not allow you to set up a new claim. Thats just the way its designed. So thats why were telling people make sure if you still have an active claim, youve exhausted all the benefits that are available to you right now, watch our edd website for the very latest information on that federal extension. What happened to the benefits for people who exhausted their benefits but wanted to file for extension. When will it be in place . Thats the information well hopefully get out this afternoon. Okay. Robert wants to know will the payment of edd benefits have a later impact on the payment of Social Security benefits once retirement age is reached and filed for . Id have to look a little further into that. For the most part what people are required to do when they certify for benefits every two weeks is tell us what income are you getting, no matter what the source. Some of it will not be deducted from your Unemployment Insurance benefits, some of it will. We look at that information thats provided by the claimant and can make that determination. Okay, great. Lori, were going to take a short break on the air here, but well continue to do this question and answer, which is so and abc 7 is all about jobs today and Unemployment Benefits, so we are back with lori levy from the Employment Development department because thats what you guys are trying to do, youre trying to develop folks for jobs. But right now youre also helping so many who are filing their claims for unemployment. Peter wants to know if an employee refused work under the shelterinplace order, is the employees benefits, are they going to be penalized or do they have to accept work and then get kicked off edd . Well, thats a very good question, especially as businesses start to reopen in california and employers are being required to abide by state safety guidelines. So we do have some brand new frequently asked questions on our edd website under the worker section. I would highly encourage people to check out that information. In a sense, if you do go back to work, even if you refuse to go back to work because of perhaps some health concerns, you are required to report that to the edd if youre collecting Unemployment Benefits on your biweekly certification form and we will take in that information and determine whether or not that meets good cause for not returning to work and whether or not the employer has been able to abide for those safety guidelines. You just answered victorias question as well. She works in a dental field and has the same concerns so thats great. A question, my mom is working parttime but they certify automatically. I cant get ahold of anybody. How or where can i put the earnings . It is right there on your biweekly certification form. Every two weeks you are required to answer several basic questions, including how much did you earn if you are working at all, how much did you earn. And theres a place right there in the certification form to supply that information to us. We take that in and evaluate whether or not theres any earnings there that need to be subtracted from your potential benefit amount and then pay you the difference if there is a difference. Okay. Lori, i thought i would share this with you because you probably get so many complaints. Its nice to get a little appreciation. But lena wants to say i want to say thank you to the two edd employees who did help me on the phone. It took me eight weeks but they were super nice and patient. If you get through, my advice is to not take your frustration out on them. Oh, thank you very much for that. I think a lot of people are missing here that we care very deeply about what were doing here at edd. These are our friends, our families, our neighbors. So many people hurting in historic proportions. Alot of us are truly exhausted because we are working so hard. That really is nice to hear. And theres a lot of people out there like that and were happy to help. I wanted to pass that on. Thank you. Christina wants to know if someone took two weeks of unpaid personal leave from work for school closures, their kids are at home, can he still apply for edd for only these two weeks . C weekly basis. So what youre telling us each week is are you still unemployed, or your hours are reduced through no fault of your own. And if so, were you working at any point during that week or could you be working if it was available to you. In other words, you werent sick and so forth. Those are the questions that you are asked on your biweekly certification form. Answer those accordingly and we take that in here to determine if you have a benefit payment coming. Fred wants to know, and i think a lot of people have the same question, do we need to file anything to get the additional extension of benefits . My portal still shows payments based on a 26week time frame without any extension added. Right. Thats because the extension isnt in place yet. But the moment that it is, were going to be able to automatically file for those who are kind of currently within a benefit year and could be eligible for that additional 13 weeks of benefits. So thats what i say, were working very, very hard. Its kinds of imagine a plane being in midair and were trying to build on it, add engines and everything without it coming crashing down. So theres a lot of things were trying to do all at one time. Look for that information that were evolving very much on a daily basis to get on the website and give you the very latest information you need. Okay. And i think you just answered this question, but its just a little bit different so im going to throw it out there for kathy. She says what if you go back to work but they dont know how long they will be open, you may get laid off again so do you keep filling out unemployment each week . That goes back to why you have a 12month period of a claim. And this is a lot of people actually. They may be going back to work for a week or two here and you report that on your weekly certification form. You may not get any Unemployment Benefits for that week. Thats okay. You still have that yearlong period to collect up to the 26 weeks of benefits youre eligible for. Okay, great. Here is a question about deb it cards. Laura park says i was approved for benefits weeks ago. Ive been paid. Where is my debit card . Abc 7 did a story about people, they cant access their debit cards. You know, im glad you asked this question because i think what were finding to be the case a lot of times is there are people who go on an Unemployment Insurance claim on a seasonal basis. We have people on a disability Insurance Claim or paid family leave claim. So when you get an edd debit card it is good for three years. And then you may not use it for some portion of that time, but when you do come into a new claim, when youre approved for benefits, its posted to that edd debit card if its still good within that threeyear period. A lot of people dont realize that. They havent read or dont remember a lot of that information that they were given. So whats happened with the bank of america is they hve put on their edd debit card website, and we have all that information on our website as well, theres a new replace my card tab. And that way you can go and do so on your own. If you need to replace that card, youve misplaced it, and that way they can work with you to get that new deb it card to you just as quickly as possible. Once you have that debit card for that first payment on your biweekly cycle, its pretty quick once you certify for benefits and youre found eligible to get that next payment within a couple of days. Sandy wants to know since a lot of people are furloughed, do they still have to send out resumes and look for other jobs . Do they have to look for jobs out of their field . Thats an interesting question. It is an interesting question. And i would say typically when you are collecting unemplyment insurance you are required to remain able and available to work and looking for work so you can stay connected to the labor force while youre collecting Unemployment Benefits. However, we all know there is nothing normal about what were in right now. And so we were able to waive some normal eligibility requirements or at least make some adjustments with our system that allows us to really process automatically large volumes of claims through our system. So answer the question truthfully, were you looking for work. But if you answer new york city no, it will not affect y co benefits right now. Lets take a and we are back with lori levy from the state Employment Development department to answer your questions and so many of you have sent one in, so heres tammys. She wants to know why isnt direct deposit an option . Either the state or bank of america or both must be making money off the debit card relationship. Now, i dont think theyre trying to make any accusations, but it is a great question of why isnt direct deposit an option . This is so new to so many people that they may not realize they do have an option. Its not necessarily direct deposit into their bank account. That is something were trying to put in place now, but its something you can elect when you go to the bank of america card site. You can select to have that money direct deposited or transfer deposited into your account either one time or on a reoccuring basis. So its really you can make that choice and if thats something you want to do, its there for you. All right. Jenny wants to know why are my pua payments pending forever. Its been eight weeks. That is the pandemic unemployment assistance. Is that the one where if youre a gig worker you can still qualify, or selfemployed . Thats a whole new program that we had to build. The regular Unemployment Insurance program has been around for a while. This is a new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program that only launched april 28. There has been no claims prior than april 28 which is just about two weeks ago. So basically what it is, its for those selfemployed, business owners, independent contractors, and those who dont normally qualify for regular unemployment. For instance, you have limited work history. So that is a separate program. You go through the same ui online tool to apply. We have to check to see whether or not we can file a regular Unemployment Insurance claim for you first and then if not, we file it as a pua claim. All right. Mary has a good question. Can your employer force you to take a paycheck from a ppp loan even though you cant work due to having to be home with your kids . You know, im unfamiliar with all the details of the ppp loans. I can tell you that theres some information on our website in our frequently asked question section that does talk about whether or not you could be eligible for benefits if youre forced to stay home to take care of your children because they cant be in school, for example. So i highly encourage someone to look at that situation. Oftentimes we have to collect information from you to help us make that determination whether or not its considered good cause for remaining eligible for Unemployment Benefits. All right. Amber wants to know, she says please address Identity Verification. Whats the wait time . How do we know documents have been received . Thats a very good question. That is something that always takes additional time. Doesnt matter whether or not were in a pandemic time or not. It is something that we are required to follow up. We have to ensure that people are who they say they are for us to protect the integrity of the program. Sometimes people will get caught up in that. We need some additional documents from you. We have redirected hundreds of people to help us with that claim and workload within the department. If you havent heard from us yet, you should be hearing from us sometime soon. Melissa wants to know how do i sign up for work share, as in reduced hours. Im still working just reduced hours. I think i signed up for the wrong ui because they said my claim would be zero. Just because you received a zero dollar award notice doesnt mean you were denied. For example, it could mean that youre for right now in that Identity Verification element where we have to verify who you are first before we can release those wages. It could mean we have to do a wage investigation where you may be misclassified as an independent contractor and you believe you should be an employee, that kind of thing. So zero dollars doesnt necessarily mean youve been denied benefits. Joanie wants to know, i applied via fax eight weeks ago. Online it shows i have money coming, but constantly says i have to reapply. I have done this weekly since march. How do i get paid . How do i get certified . Again, i dont see the specifics of that claim here in front of me. I can say that i was assisting someone just yesterday and they had filed for a pua claim appeared theyre like im not quite sure so i think i havent gotten a check for a little while. I said, well, did you go in and certify . We had a period where we were automatically certifying for people through may 9th. That period is over. You need to go in every two weeks. Theres notices in your ui inbox that tells you its time to certify. You have to fill out im unemployed and otherwise eligible and thats what triggers your next benefit payment. Gayle wants to know why have some people been paid in full parttime, others have been partially paid and others not paid at all. Also, should we continue to reopen or claim every other week as prompted . So two questions. Im not sure about the reopening claim prompt because thats really something if your claim goes dormant within that 12month period and youre unemployed again thats when you reopen your claim on ui online. Usually you can follow the prompts on that. But i think that the hardest part for people to realize on the Unemployment Insurance program is it truly is a casebycase basis. You may work side by side with somebody in the same workplace but your work history over the last 18 months is very different. How much youve earned and so forth. Thats what all goes into determining eligibility for Unemployment Benefits and how much you could earn. All right, lori levy, thanks so much. Thats all the time we have on air. Ive got one more question for you on our live stream platforms and tha for joining us today on getting answers. One of the big headlines from today, the first pandemic unemployment emergency compensation should happen on may 27th. Be on the lookout for more information. Well be here every day at 3 00. Now stick around for world news tonight. Have a good one. Tonight, the whistleblower and his new warning to americans, saying, without immediate planning, 2020 could be the darkest winter in modern history. The former head of the federal agency overseeing the development of the Coronavirus Vaccine testifying on capitol hill today, after he says he was pushed out for criteria sidesing the trump administrations response, telling lawmakers today the window is closing to address the pandemic, saying early inaction cost lives. And raidsing new questions tonight about the timeline for a possible vaccine. And President Trump responding late today. Also, as we come on the air tonight, the cdc just now releasing federal guidance for reopening schools and businesses. What they now recommend. As the president travels to the battleground state of pennsylvania, surrounded by staff and workers there wearing mask a