Facing public outcry over limited hours for jobless claim processing help by phone, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday that he directed California’s unemployment agency to keep lines open until 5 p.m. or longer.
In response, the state Employment Development Department said that it is shifting workers from other jobs and has set a target date of April 20 to change its call center hours from 8 a.m. to noon to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Californians out of work following the state’s implementation of a stay-at-home order to fight the coronavirus have flooded the Capitol and social media in the last week with complaints of having to make dozens of calls to the state Employment Development Department and failing to connect to a service representative.
The EDD has been operating its call center that helps jobless residents from 8 a.m. to noon since 2013 as the growing economy has reduced the number of people seeking unemployment benefits.
Read the full story on LATimes.com.