SACRAMENTO, Calif — Shannon Muse of Roseville has lost faith that California's Employment Development Department (EDD) will pay her the unemployment benefits she has been waiting on for months.
"It just abruptly stopped when I needed to verify my identification," Muse said. "I haven't paid been paid since July."
That's right, July 2020.
For eight months now, Muse has been trying to get the EDD to verify her identification and resume her benefits. Right now, the hang up seems to be with her California driver's license.
"They are telling me that they can verify my utility bill, but they can't verify my California ID," Muse said.
Muse is one of hundreds of thousands of people in California who have been waiting months for EDD to pay them their unemployment benefits. In a phone call earlier this month, ABC10's Dollars and Sense team asked EDD specifically what it is doing to get people paid more quickly.
"Adding staff, adding additional options and resources," Loree Levy, EDD Deputy Director of Public Affairs, said. "All of that combined is going to make big differences for our customer service moving forward."
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But those forward-looking changes aren't enough, according to democratic Rep. Josh Harder, D- Turlock.
"The good news is, I think they're finally heading in the right direction," Rep. Harder said. "They understand how deep these problems are. The bad news is it's not happening nearly quickly enough."
Harder has been pressing EDD for answers and changes for nearly a year now. He's sent them letters with specific questions that have gone unanswered. He acknowledges that EDD is improving, but says their timeline is "way too long."
"Somebody that's lost their job, that is desperate to make sure that they can get their only source of income, that unemployment check. And you're telling me, EDD is telling me, that it's going to take another three or four months for that person to get help. That's not acceptable," Rep. Harder said.
