SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Employment Development Department (EDD) has announced new updates to their system, which means some claimants will not have to file a new claim starting on June 5.
EDD automated the reapplication process for claimants who didn't earn enough in the last 18 months. People who would have had to file a new claim now do not have to.
EDD said that this is "to improve customer service and automate workload wherever possible," in a press release.
Starting on June 5, EDD will automatically process the benefits on people's behalf if they did not make enough in the last 18 months and would still qualify for unemployment. This would add a federal extension to an expired claim or add to an existing one, regardless of the type of claim. EDD said they would then notify people when the additional benefit weeks are processed.
EDD says that people can figure out if they meet the requirements to have the claim automatically filed by logging in and filing a new claim. They said that the new application process will only proceed if a new one is necessary.
But this still has some people wary of trusting EDD to process these claims after so many issues over the last year.
"Unfortunately, the EDD system is riddled with glitches and things that haven't been updated during the entire course of the pandemic. So, unfortunately, relying on a system that is already untrustworthy and broken to tell you if you're required to file for a new claim is extremely problematic," said Ginny Silver, a YouTuber focused on EDD updates.
Silver said she would have a hard time trusting EDD to properly refile these claims because of the past issues.
"Because these programs are so complicated, having individuals rely on these self-service methods is not something that is extremely helpful to claimants receiving all the benefits that they are owed," she said.
EDD said that they will continue to notify people in their accounts if they need to reapply. People can also check the online Unemployment Insurance Benefit Calculator to see if they qualify for a new claim.
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