163,000 jobless Californians were wrongly denied benefits last year

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http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-edd-appeals-20140226,0,1594587.story

Jobless benefits wrongly denied
More than 163,000 jobless Californians were wrongly denied benefits last year and had their denials reversed by judges on appeal, adding to a string of troubles at the state Employment Development Department.
By Marc Lifsher
February 25, 2014, 7:20 p.m.

SACRAMENTO — Hundreds of thousands of jobless Californians last year appealed decisions of the troubled Employment Development Department, adding to months of delays in getting unemployment benefits.

After holding hearings, administrative law judges at the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board rejected many of the EDD's cursory, highly technical decisions. They threw out or revised more than half of the earlier denials, belatedly awarding long-sought assistance of up to $450 per week.

The lengthy appeals added one more layer of woe for the state's jobless to troubles at the EDD that included unanswered phone calls, glitchy computers and confusing paperwork.

Despite state pledges to improve the system, lawmakers including state Sen. Henry T. Perea (D-Fresno), chairman of the powerful Assembly Insurance Committee, are pressing for change.