Report 2020-128/628.1 Recommendation 11 Responses
Report 2020-128/628.1: Employment Development Department: EDD's Poor Planning and Ineffective Management Left It Unprepared to Assist Californians Unemployed by COVID‑19 Shutdowns (Release Date: January 2021)
Recommendation #11 To: Employment Development Department
To continue providing timely payment of benefits to Californians in need while also effectively responding to the Department of Labor's directive regarding immediately resuming all eligibility determinations and resolving all suspended determinations, EDD should do the following:
-Using the workload plan, EDD should process the deferred work in alignment with the following: the need to pay timely benefits to new or continued claimants, federal expectations about the urgency of the deferred work, and any deadlines by which EDD may no longer be allowed to recoup inappropriately paid benefits.
The Unemployment Insurance Branch fully liquidated its deferred workloads on April 30, 2023, in alignment with the Employment Development Department's (EDD) projected workload forecast. As it relates to the EDD's blanket waiver application status with the U.S. Department of Labor, the EDD has since liquidated its deferred workloads and has rescinded its blanket waiver applications associated with deferred determinations.
- Completion Date: April 2023
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Fully Implemented
The Unemployment Insurance Branch continues to process its deferred workloads. The Employment Development Department (EDD) continues to remain firm on its forecasts for an April 2023 date to complete its deferred workloads. To date, the EDD is still pending a response from the U.S. Department of Labor regarding the status of its blanket waiver application.
- Estimated Completion Date: 4/30/2023
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
The Unemployment Insurance Branch continues to process its deferred workloads. The Employment Development Department (EDD) continues to forecast an April 2023 date to complete its deferred workloads. To date, the EDD is still pending a response from the U.S. Department of Labor regarding the status of its blanket waiver application.
- Estimated Completion Date: 4/30/2023
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
The Unemployment Insurance Branch continues to process its deferred workloads and is still pending blanket waiver consideration guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor. The Employment Development Department is now forecasting a liquidation date of April 2023 for its deferred workloads.
- Estimated Completion Date: 04/30/2023
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
The Unemployment Insurance Branch (UIB) continues to address both its prospective and deferred workloads. The UIB's deferred workloads are being processed based on the prioritization outlined in the risk assessment performed by Accenture.
- Estimated Completion Date: 9/30/22
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
The Unemployment Insurance Branch (UIB) continues to address both its prospective and deferred workloads. The UIB's deferred workloads are being processed based on the prioritization outlined in the risk assessment performed by Accenture. The UIB has also updated its planned liquidation date from July 2022 to September 2022.
- Estimated Completion Date: 9/30/2022
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
The Unemployment Insurance Branch (UIB) began addressing both its prospective and deferred workloads. The UIB's deferred workloads are being processed based on the prioritization outlined in the risk assessment performed by Accenture. The UIB has also taken into account the statutory requirements to recoup benefits that were improperly paid for regular unemployment insurance claims and federal benefit programs (e.g., Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, extended benefits, etc.) when processing its deferred workloads.
- Estimated Completion Date: 7/31/2022
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
The Unemployment Insurance Branch (UIB) has developed a workload plan it will execute to address its deferred workloads. The workload plan developed is divided into eight "cohorts" to address the UIB's prospective and deferred workloads in partnership with the vendor, Maximus. Each "cohort" will be provided targeted training on select priority workloads outlined in the Accenture risk assessment. The deferred workloads will be processed by both vendor agents and Unemployment Insurance (UI) merit staff. The UI Command Center Division will monitor the various determinations volumes and proactively forecast, and redirect vendor staff and UI merit staff, as needed. The Employment Development Department anticipates its deferred workloads will be liquidated by July 2022.
- Estimated Completion Date: 7/31/22
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
The Unemployment Insurance Branch continues to identify and work through priority workloads including some of the deferred workloads. As the work plan is finalized we will utilize the plan to process the remaining deferred work in alignment with priorities to pay timely benefits to new or continued claimants, federal expectation, and deadlines to recoup inappropriately paid benefits.
- Estimated Completion Date: 10/29/2021
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
The Unemployment Insurance Branch (UIB) continues to identify and work through priority workloads including some of the deferred workloads. As the work plan is finalized we will utilize the plan to process the remaining deferred work in alignment with priorities to pay timely benefits to new or continued claimants, federal expectations, and deadlines to recoup inappropriately paid benefits.
- Estimated Completion Date: 10/31/21
California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
All Recommendations in 2020-128/628.1
Agency responses received are posted verbatim.