Episode 7 EDD Plays Ping-Pong with People’s Unemployment Claims Friday, December 4, 2020 Listen / Update RequiredTo play audio, update browser or Flash plugin. Stephanie Moore sits with her eight-month-old dog Spooky at a local park in Lawndale, CA, on Nov. 17, 2020. Money unexpectedly went missing from Moore's Bank of America-issued unemployment debit card.Photo by Tash Kimmell for CalMatters California’s beleaguered Employment Development Department, which handles unemployment claims across the state, has been in the spotlight since the beginning of the pandemic in March, when millions of people found themselves suddenly out of work and in need of financial help. That help was slow to come for many Californians. CalMatter’s Economy Reporter Lauren Hepler talks with host Elizabeth Aguilera about the challenges unemployed Californians are having and what the state is doing about it. Also, we hear from people across the state, who recently navigated the unemployment system with the help of a Facebook group. Nicole Nixon talks with a filmmaker in Los Angeles who started the group, a substitute teacher in Orange County and a couple in the Bay Area about how they made it work while waiting months for their payments.
