Brown official orders EDD to pay jobless claims first, check eligibility later

With thousands of Californians still waiting for unemployment checks because of a computer problem that has delayed payments for weeks, the Brownadministration on Tuesday ordered the Employment Development Department to begin paying backlogged claims for continued benefits before determining if they are eligible for payment.

Calling the backlog "unacceptable," Marty Morgenstern, secretary of the state Labor and Workforce Development Agency, told EDD Chief Deputy Director Sharon Hilliard in a memorandum that without such action "it is unlikely that the claims backlog will be reduced quickly enough to respond to the very real financial hardship now being experienced by too many of our residents relying on timely payment of their UI benefits.

Morgenstern said, "Consequently, I am directing EDD to immediately begin the process of paying backlogged claims for continued UI benefits prior to a final determination of eligibility."

Final determinations of eligibility for backlogged claims "will have to be completed later and at that time EDD will act to recover any resulting overpayments that might occur," the memo said.

Loree Levy, an EDD spokeswoman, said in an email late Tuesday night that Hilliard received Morgenstern's memo and that EDD "will begin paying all backlogged UI claims without any further delays."
She said claimants who currently have claims in the backlog will begin receiving payments as soon as Thursday.

EDD, which is upgrading its 30-year-old unemployment insurance processing system, said early last week that about 50,000 Californians had claims delayed after the department converted several years of old data into a new processing system over the Labor Day weekend. The problem quickly grew wider, however. By Friday, EDD said about 185,000 of the state's nearly 800,000 people receiving benefits had been affected, with about 80,000 backlogged claims yet to be cleared.

The department put hundreds of employees to work over the weekend, hoping to put a significant dent in the backlog. The effort was largely unsuccessful. Though EDD said it cleared about 43,000 claims from the backlog over the weekend and another 11,000 claims Monday, new claims replaced the ones EDD cleared, and the backlog of submissions older than 10 days remained about 80,000 as of Tuesday afternoon.

Morgenstern acknowledged what he said were "multiple steps" by EDD "to aggressively deal with backlogged certifications," including redirecting staff from other program areas to help process claims and increasing overtime.

However, he said such efforts are unlikely to be sufficient. He said paying backlogged claims for continued unemployment benefits before a final determination of eligibility is consistent with U.S. Department of Labor guidelines.

"It is my expectation that this payment action along with the dedication of additional staff resources will expedite the elimination of the backlog and the payment of UI benefits to those most in need in the shortest possible time," Morgenstern wrote.

Read more here: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2013/09/brown-official-orders-edd-to-pay-backlogged-claims-first-check-eligibility.html#storylink=cpy

California restricts hiring after dual-paycheck revelations

Gov. Jerry Brown's administration has restricted state departments' hiring authority following revelations that hundreds of public employees were receiving pay for second state jobs in addition to their normal salaries.

Workers receiving more than one state paycheck, known in official parlance as "additional appointments," were found in a variety of departments and agencies, including the California Public Employees Retirement System and the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and in several state hospitals.

The Brown administration did not ban the practice, but any such hire must now be approved by its Office of Human Resources.

"It appears that in some cases people were paid additionally for the job they were hired to do in the first place," said Assemblyman Jeff Gorell (R-Camarillo), who introduced a bill Wednesday to ban salaried state employees from holding more than one state job. "It's inappropriate at best and potentially abusive," he said.

Gorell said the proliferation of double paychecks highlights the need for more legislative oversight of the executive branch.

"It's clear that the governor and his administration don't fully understand what's happening in these agencies," he said.

Documents provided by the state controller's office show that 571 nonunion employees hold more than one position in various departments. The records do not show what those employees were paid.

The Sacramento Bee reported that dozens of state corrections officers received additional compensation beyond that of their regular jobs — some of which paid up to $20,000 per month. The paper also reported that the chief psychiatrist at Napa State Hospital, who receives an annual salary of more than $275,000, was receiving an additional $125 per hour for work as a staff psychiatrist.

"It's a scam," said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog, a nonprofit advocacy agency. "Many people in all kinds of different jobs work for a set salary understanding that sometimes that means working long hours. Unfortunately, that's not always the culture of government."

A spokesman for the state's largest public employee union said the extra pay was for managers and other nonunion employees who are not eligible for overtime. Most unionized workers receive overtime if they put in extra hours.

A spokesman for CalPERS said it had allowed salaried workers to receive extra pay since June 2011 to help the agency launch and test a new technology project. Brad Pacheco said that using existing workers saved CalPERS an estimated $1.6 million that would have been spent to hire outside consultants and train new staff.

The human resources agency issued a statement saying that officials were "conducting a full review to determine whether there is any justification for continuing this practice."

via LA Times