I’m also very grateful for this website that Lori has provided where we can voice our concerns & help one another! I certainly hope that you have received more referrals & business from those of us who have accessed this page. I will certainly refer anyone who is in need of HR consulting that I run across in the future to you Lori, as I do hope that anyone else here will do as well.

Here is the story: I was laid off on November 25, 2009 (right before Thanksgiving). Applied for the unemployment benefits a couple days later and requested to reschedule a phone interview at the same time online. Requested to reschedule because I was gonna be out of the country for a month. Next day I left the country.

On December 11, 2009, got an email from the EDD stating that a phone interview was scheduled. I was confused how the EDD planned to have the interview when I couldn’t be reached obviously. On December 16, 2009, I emailed to the EDD asking again to reschedule the phone interview.

On January 8, 2010 (this is when I returned), I see an EDD notice informing me that I had a phone interview scheduled on December 31, 2009. I was like what? So, I emailed immediately to the EDD about it asking how come a phone interview was scheduled when I specifically requested to reschedule it.

Two days later I got another notice informing me that my claim was denied because I was not available. I was shocked! A week later (after trying to reach anyone from the EDD) I finally spoke with an agent where I was told that my claim was denied because the EDD had no information of my employment history in the state. FYI, I had been working in CA since 2007 and filed my income tax returns. The same agent explained that I didn’t need to file an appeal and should wait since another phone interview would be scheduled. Obviously, I missed the appeal date as of today.

Today, I got a call and was told that now I have two issues that affect my eligibility. 1st: I was not available for the phone interview (which is dumb). 2nd: EDD has no employment history (which is more dumb).

My frustrations are the following:
-I emailed the EDD twice (way before December 31) to reschedule the phone interview. Today, I was told that I should have appealed when I had the chance. I was like “Are you serious?” As I mentioned before, I was told that I didn’t have to appeal and the issue was cleared. I learned that my disqualification is indefinite. How can it possible.
The EDD received my rescheduling request on December 31, 2009, only. How is that possible? Emailed on December 1 and 16 and the EDD got the one sent on 16th only (it received on December 31). Unbelievable.
-The EDD doesn’t have my employment history in the state. Seriously, I had worked for almost 3 years in CA, filed income tax returns, and of course paid income taxes.

So, I am waiting for a supervisor call today. I truly hope that my issues would be resolved in my favor. Can anyone give any piece of advice how to deal with these issues? I only have one month of rent left to pay and, then I have nothing. I feel like kicking somebody’s ass now.

:-!

*If I heard “Thank you for calling” I immediately hung up and redialed
*If I heard “Welcome to” I immediately typed in 12117 and waited. Most of the time it said due to the number of calls we cannot take your call at this time.
*However I was able to get through twice (my phone dropped the first call – btw call from a land line if you can) in two hours and put on hold for a representative
*Once on the phone, I was sent through to my interviewer and able to leave a message on her personal voicemail, so I could leave a message to be called back.

I’m now waiting for the call, but at least now the efforts shown and they can’t stop my payments for not being able to reach me. You may have to do nothing but call and hang up for a hour straight, but if you really want to get ahold of them it’s definitely worth it. You will reach someone.

There is no doubt in my mind that California is intentionally avoiding paying unemployment benefits. I will never go back to the state, as beautiful as it is and as wonderful as the people are. The state has broken my spirit. I am on anti-depressent/anti-anxiety medication just to live through my days and function without curling into a ball. We are all in a horrible situation at this time thanks to a bunch of greedy politicians, financiers, businessmen, and idiot economists who have chipped away at our regulatory framework over the last 3 decades. Our government has failed us and has furthered global corporate interests at the expense of its own people. The disparity of income in this country has skyrocketed, and it makes me sick to see all the 100 foot motor yachts with Cayman Island registrations docked in places like Fort Lauderdale while the rest of us have had our real incomes decline — with no hope in sight.

So far, that testing is going well and we anticipate being able to start processing the new federal extension claims and sending out notices and claim forms to potentially eligible unemployed workers in the week of December 14. If all goes as planned, we should start issuing the first two-week checks soon after. Claim forms need to be sent to claimants and received in sequential order to avoid interruptions in payments. Checks will arrive in two-week increments for all eligible weeks of unemployment dating back to November 8 as long as claimants quickly and accurately complete and return all pertinent claim forms sent to them and those forms verify eligibility.

All potentially eligible unemployed workers will be sent notices as soon as the new programming is up and running. Those who exhausted all of their available benefits before November 8 will most likely be advised to submit a new application for the extension benefits. Because so much time elapsed between when these claimants ran out of their benefits and when the federal government enacted the new extensions, EDD has to collect updated claimant and employment-related information to file these claims. To save time, it’s recommended these claimants go ahead and submit a new application for the extension benefits now online. For those unemployed workers who ran out of their benefits after November 8, EDD should be able to automatically file their new extension claims and send them claim forms to be completed and returned.

Those potentially eligible to receive the new extensions with up to 14 more weeks of UI benefits available for now include those who have exhausted all available unemployment benefits. As of December 4, EDD estimates 117,000 people in California have run out of benefits. Those potentially eligible for the new benefits also include those who will run out of their second extension benefits by mid-December, and those who run out of their current FED ED benefits between now and early 2010.

The first eligible week for the new benefits is the week starting Sunday, November 8, 2009. Because the new extensions are not retroactive, they do not apply to any weeks of unemployment prior to the enactment date of November 8. But the Department will file the new extended benefit claims effective November 8, 2009, for those who are eligible.

EDD has received many inquiries from anxious claimants. We are updating our online information on a continual basis so you have the very latest information available. We encourage you to stay informed on developments by monitoring our Web site and following EDD on Twitter. You will also find helpful revised information about the federal extension program in our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section of our Web site