ONLINE
ONLINE AT
ONLINE AT THE TV STATION. AND WE KNOW YOU HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS.
LET'S GET RIGHT OUT OF THE GATE
WITH LORI LEAVY.
DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF
COMMUNICATIONS AT CALIFORNIA
EMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENT
DEPARTMENT VIA THE PHONE.
LORI, THANK YOU.
LET'S GET RIGHT TO IT HERE.
OUR FIRST TEXT QUESTION, I WAS
RECENTLY LAYED OFF.
HOW DO I APPLY FOR UNEMPLOYMENT
BENEFITS?
WHAT IS STEP ONE?
>> STEP ONE IS BASICALLY GO
ONLINE.
THAT IS BY FAR THE BEST WAY TO
GO AHEAD AND APPLY FOR BENEFITS
THROUGH OUR WEBSITE.
THERE IS A CORONAVIRUS 2020 WEB
PAGE WITH LOTS OF GOOD
INFORMATION IN THE LINKS TO
THAT ONLINE APPLICATION.
YOU CAN DO SO FROM YOUR MOBILE
PHONE.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE A
COMPUTER.
THERE IS LIMITED PHONE SERVICE.
OF COURSE, YOU CAN UNDERSTAND
THOSE PHONE LINES ARE CLOGGED
UP.
SO BY FAR, THE ONLINE IS THE
BEST OPTION.
>> SO, SINCE THE CORONAVIRUS,
THE COVID-19 SITUATION CAME
UPON YOUR DEPARTMENT, HAVE
THERE BEEN ANY CHANGES TO THE
WAY PEOPLE CAN FILE FOR
UNEMPLOYMENT?
QUICKLY LOOKED AT?
WHAT IS THE STATUS?
>> WELL, WE'RE LOOKING AT A
HISTORIC ON SLOT OF CLAIMS AT
THIS POINT.
I DON'T THINK ANYONE HAS BEEN
PREPARED FOR AN ENTIRE ECONOMY
TO COME TO A SCREECHING HALT.
SO YES, WE'RE DEALING WITH AN
UNPRECEDENTED LOAD OF
UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS, BUT WE ARE
DEALING WITH AN UNPRECEDENTED
STRATEGIES THAT WE'RE PUTTING
IN PLACE TO HELP US DEAL WITH
THAT.
SO A COUPLE THINGS ARE REALLY
MAKING A DIFFERENCE FOR US.
WE JUST RELEASED SOME NUMBERS
YESTERDAY THAT WE HAD PROCESSED
187,000 CLAIMS IN THE WEEK
BEFORE.
I THINK NEXT THURSDAY WHEN THE
NEW NUMBERS COME OUT, YOU'LL
SEE EVEN A HIGHER SPIKE.
THE GOOD NEWS IS, WE HAVE BEEN
ABLE TO KIND OF ADJUST CERTAIN
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS TO
ADDRESS THIS UNIQUE SITUATION.
WHICH ALLOWS US TO
AUTOMATICALLY PROCESS A LARGE
AMOUNT OF CLAIMS THROUGH OUR
SYSTEM.
ALSO, WE JUST IMPLEMENTED TODAY
FROM A DROP DOWN MENU WHEN YOU
DO APPLY, JUST GO AHEAD AND
CHOOSE THE CORONAVIRUS AS YOUR
REASON FOR BEING OUT OF WORK OR
HAVING YOUR HOURS REDUCED.
SO, ALL THOSE THINGS, PLUS A
LOT OF THINGS WE'RE DOING WITH
EXTRA STAFF ARE MAKING A BIG
DIFFERENCE.
>> IN PREVIOUS YEARS, YOU LOSE
YOUR JOB, YOU FILE RIGHT AWAY.
IT TAKES ABOUT TWO WEEKS FOR
YOU TO GET A CHECK, I BELIEVE.
I'M NOT SURE.
WHAT IS THE TIME NOW TO START
SEEING SOME MONEY COMING IN?
>> WELL, GENERALLY SPEAKING,
ABOUT THREE WEEKS FROM THE TIME
THAT YOU SUBMIT YOUR
APPLICATION FOR BENEFITS,
THAT'S HOW LONG IT TAKES US TO
PROCESS THAT CLAIM.
CHECK WITH WAGE RECORDS.
THIS IS A WAGE REPLACEMENT
PROGRAM MEANT TO SUPPLEMENT AT
LEAST A PORTION OF THE WAGES
THAT YOU'RE LOSING.
AND SO GENERALLY SPEAKING, IT'S
GOING TO TAKE THREE WEEKS.
WITHIN A COUPLE OF WEEKS WHEN
YOU SUBMIT, YOU'LL HEAR FROM US
WITH A NOTICE TELLING YOU WHAT
WE THINK YOUR WAGES WILL
SUPPORT IN A CLAIM.
AND THEN THE NEXT STEP IS UP TO
YOU, WHERE YOU GO AHEAD ASK
CERTIFY.
IN OTHER WORDS, YOU GO THROUGH
YOUR ONLINE ACCOUNT AND YOU
TELL US YES, I CONTINUE TO BE
UNEMPLOYED AND OTHERWISE
ELIGIBLE.
AND THEN THAT FIRST BENEFIT
PAYMENT ARRIVES.
GENERALLY SPEAKING, ABOUT THREE
WEEKS FROM THE TIME YOU APPLY
FOR MOST WORKERS.
THE ONES THAT WE PROBABLY
ALWAYS HAVE TO TAKE SOME
ADDITIONAL TIME WITH, ARE THOSE
THAT WE GET INFORMATION THAT
DOES NOT MATCH OUR WAGE RECORDS
OR WE CAN'T IDENTIFY OR VERIFY
THAT PERSON'S IDENTITY.
>> ALL RIGHT, LET'S TALK ABOUT
VERIFICATION.
YOU APPLY, WHAT TYPE OF
INFORMATION DO YOU NEED TO
SUPPLY YOU TO GET THESE
BENEFITS?
>> WELL, FIRST OFF THERE'S A
GREAT CHECKLIST ON OUR WEBSITE
THAT WE CAN LINK YOU TO.
THAT GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF
EVERYTHING YOU SHOULD COLLECT
BEFORE YOU APPLY.
THAT INCLUDES WAGE RECORDS,
WHAT YOU EARNED OVER THE LAST
12 TO 18 MONTHS.
WHO YOU WORKED FOR.
THAT KIND OF INFORMATION.
IF THERE'S ANY IDENTITY ISSUES,
WE'LL ASK YOU FOR SOME
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION THAT
PROVES YOU KNOW, YOU ARE WHO
YOU SAY YOU ARE.
THERE'S A NUMBER OF ITEMS THAT
WE CAN ACCEPT FOR THAT.
GENERALLY SPEAKING, THAT UI
CHECKLIST IS A GREAT RESOURCE
TO HELP YOU BE PREPARED WHEN
YOU SIT DOWN TO APPLY.
>> ALL RIGHT, THIS NEXT ONE IS
INTERESTING BECAUSE I THINK
YOUR SYSTEM, EVERY SYSTEM IS
BEING OVERWELMED HERE.
THE TEXT QUESTION, SINCE BEING
LAYED OFF, I HAVE BEEN TRYING
TO SIGN UP FOR BENEFITS ONLINE.
CALLING EVERY DAY, I WROTE TO
COMPLAIN TO THE E-MAIL ADDRESS,
THE RESPONSE WAS WRONG
DEPARTMENT.
SO IS THIS JUST SOMETHING THAT
YOU SEE HAPPENING?
AND IF SO, IS IT BECAUSE OF THE
OVERWELMING NUMBER OF MESSAGES
YOU ARE GETTING.
>> THE GOOD NEWS IS, WE STILL
HAVE OUR SYSTEM UP AND RUNNING.
BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE
TRYING TO GET IN AT ONE TIME,
SO I ALWAYS ENCOURAGE EVERYONE
IF YOU CAN'T GET IN RIGHT AWAY,
TRY AGAIN A LITTLE LATER.
IT'S AVAILABLE 24/7, WITH A FEW
HOURS IN THE LATE EVENING HOURS
WHERE WE PUSH SOME CLAIMS OVER
TO PAYMENT.
BUT GENERALLY SPEAKING, IT'S
THERE FOR YOU AND IF THERE ARE
SOME ERRORS, IT MIGHT BE
SOMETHING TO DO WITH YOUR
INTERNET CONNECTION.
WE'VE BEEN SEEING SOME OF THAT
ISSUE POPPING UP.
YOU CAN USE YOUR MOBILE PHONE
TO GO AHEAD AND APPLY FOR
BENEFITS.
THERE ARE SOME OPTIONS AND I
REALLY EXPECT THOSE WILL WORK
FOR MOST PEOPLE.
>> YEAH, I AM GLAD YOU BROUGHT
UP THE FACT IT COULD BE THE
PERSON'S INTERNET SITUATION,
BECAUSE I KNOW WITH ALL OF OUR
PEOPLE NOW WORKING REMOTELY
BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 7:00 A.M.
AND 8:00 P.M., WITH EVERYBODY
AT HOME ON THE INTERNET NOW AND
EVERYBODY AT HOME NOW