On May 27, the Employment Development Department (EDD) announced plans to hire 1,800 new temporary full-time and hourly staff over the next several weeks from throughout California to bolster the delivery of critical unemployment benefits to workers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The workers will be trained in call center operations, processing UI claims, and analyzing documents from claimants and employers to make wage determinations for benefits.
The effort is being done in partnership with CalHR, the CHP, and the California Correctional Health Care Services department who are helping with screening applicants and conducting interviews.
“This urgent hiring effort will further enhance the department’s ability to process an unprecedented surge of benefit claims, while offering an opportunity for employment to Californians during this difficult time,” said EDD Director Sharon Hilliard.
Teleworking options are available, as well as in office locations throughout the state. Available positions include:
- Employment Program Representative — requires college education and public contact experience to process claims and assist customers, including over the phone and off-phone work.
- Office Technician — requires clerical skills to assist customers over the phone.
- Financial services classifications — including Tax Auditor and Accountant 1 Specialist, Accounting Technician, and Accounting Officer positions requiring professional accounting coursework along with up to three years of accounting/auditing experience. These positions are in Sacramento.
The EDD receives federal funding to administer the unemployment insurance program in California based on workload. With the surge from record low unemployment in February to record high just two months later, the EDD is receiving increased federal funding to support the staffing needed for keeping up with this historic demand for unemployment benefits.
The mass hiring comes on the heels of a push to process claims throughout the Memorial Day weekend by 700 volunteer unemployment insurance and redirected staff. They focused on claims that arrived via paper and those where the identity of the claimant couldn’t be verified through the state’s data matching systems. Such claims cannot be auto processed and demand staff handling.
As May 16, the EDD processed over 5.1 million claims for unemployment benefits and paid more than $16.1 billion in benefits to workers in need since the pandemic began.
The new hires will join about 1,200 current trained staff involved in processing Unemployment Insurance claims, as well as more than 1,300 staff who have been redeployed from other state positions, and 500 temporary vendor staff, all who are helping to expand capacity to serve customers until state hires can be made. In addition, some vendors are assisting the EDD to optimize call center operations to serve customers.
Applicants who possess bilingual skills including Spanish, Cantonese, Vietnamese, and Mandarin are encouraged to apply. Application packages may be submitted electronically through www.CalCareers.ca.gov.