EDD still on the hot seat + NARAL endorses + Cal-OSHA chief off to DC

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EDD STILL ON THE HOT SEAT

via David Lightman

The volume of weekday calls to California Employment Development Department’s call center “still overwhelms the system” 19 months into the coronavirus pandemic and well past the state’s peak unemployment rate, EDD Director Rita Saenz told a legislative hearing Monday.

“The call center remains a challenge,” she said.

Saenz appeared before lawmakers Monday at another in a series of hearings aimed at measuring the beleaguered agency’s progress in dealing with an unprecedented number of claims.

The questioning was often pointed but didn’t feature the sort of anger and outright frustration of previous sessions. Lawmakers wanted information.

Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris, D-Laguna Beach, chair of the Accountability and Administrative Review Committee, pressed EDD officials to be specific about meeting deadlines for reforms.

While seeing “notable progress’ on recommendations in a state audit in January, Petrie-Norris said, “Significant work does remain to ensure that improvements are fully implemented and the impact of these changes is fully realized.”

Assemblywoman Wendy Carillo, D-Los Angeles, chair of the budget administration subcommittee, was concerned about ongoing call center issues.

Claim payments have plunged in recent weeks as federal unemployment programs ended. EDD paid out $332 million in the week ending Oct. 16, far from the $2.1 billion paid during the week ending Sept. 11.

Yet getting through to EDD remains difficult for many people. While a higher percentage of calls is being answered, Saenz said, “the robocalls and the repeat calls can still overwhelm the system during the weekdays.”

Saenz explained how it was often difficult to retain call center workers. What, asked Carillo, is the timeline for training people?

EDD officials said it takes about four months to train the call center workers.

“If it takes four months to train individuals to go into the call center, and there’s a 30% retention issue, then that certainly is something that complicates assisting constituents who are calling in….that obviously is an issue that needs to be addressed,” Carillo said.

Saenz also explained that the agency expects to bring in more staff next month to help deal with the wait of up to 26 weeks for eligibility interviews.

Saenz called that wait “completely unacceptable.”

NARAL ENDORSES INCUMBENTS IN 2022

Via Lara Korte...

One of the state’s biggest abortion rights groups endorsed a slate of incumbent Democrats for statewide office on Tuesday.

NARAL Pro-Choice California will back Gov. Gavin Newsom, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, Secretary of State Shirley Weber, Attorney General Rob Bonta, Treasurer Fiona Ma, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond.

“This year has made it abundantly clear that we must protect and expand access in California amid countless attacks on abortion access across the country,” NARAL Director Shannon Olivieri Hovis said in a statement. “We need state leaders who have been and continue to be unwavering in their commitment to safeguarding our most fundamental freedoms.”

Abortion rights was a major issue for Newsom’s recall defense in the final weeks of the campaign. Democrats capitalized on national headlines brought by Texas’ abortion ban and comments made by Republican frontrunner Larry Elder.

NARAL, in its endorsement, praised Newsom for signing multiple NARAL-backed bills, including ones to reduce the rate of Black maternal mortality, expand job-protected paid family leave and expand access to high-quality pregnancy and birth care.

NARAL notably endorsed two state officers who have been scrutinized in recent weeks over hostile workplace allegations. State Treasurer Ma is currently being sued by a former employee, and Superintendent Thurmond reportedly is churning through top aides in an allegedly toxic workplace.

CAL-OSHA CHIEF HEADS TO WASHINGTON

Via Jeong Park...

Months after his nomination, Cal-OSHA Chief Doug Parker is officially headed to Washington.

The U.S. Senate on Monday voted 50-41 to confirm Parker to be an Assistant Secretary of Labor. Parker will head the federal OSHA, which regulates workplace safety. The agency will have a Senate-confirmed leader for the first time since early 2017.

Parker, Cal-OSHA’s director since 2019, led the state agency as it drafted emergency COVID-19 workplace rules. Workplace advocates have hailed Parker for creating the rules, although they have also said the agency has significantly undercounted the number of workers who have fallen ill or died from the coronavirus.

Advocates have also started a petition protesting Cal-OSHA’s proposal to drop a provision in the rule which mandates that the workers who self-quarantine due to their exposure to COVID-19 should keep their pay and job.

Still, Parker got support from major unions such as the AFL-CIO.

“Faced with limited resources and staffing at the agency, Mr. Parker actively worked to efficiently utilize resources to prioritize employee safety and implement policies that ensure employers do the same,” AFL-CIO Director of Government Affairs William Samuel wrote to senators in June.

Parker will quickly face a litany of issues in his new position. He will soon be tasked with enforcing a mandate in which bigger private employers are required to have their workers be vaccinated against COVID or be subjected to regular testing.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Living here on the North Coast is a blessing. And, every fall, has brought significant anxiety due to wildfire risk. So many have gone through so much. That’s why, with all of this rain, it’s a huge sigh of relief that wildfire season is most likely in the rear view mirror.”

- Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, via Twitter.

Best of the Bee:

• State Auditor Elaine Howle, whose scathing audits of the embattled Employment Development Department boosted efforts this year to reform the agency, will retire at the end of the year, her office said Monday, via David Lightman.

• California Gov. Gavin Newsom will travel to Glasgow, Scotland, next month for the United Nations climate conference, his first major conference abroad since becoming governor in 2019, via Sophia Bollag.

• The attorney for a California state agency that provides work opportunities for incarcerated people is suing his employer, as well as the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, alleging that they retaliated against him when he came forward with complaints about the now-former general manager, via Andrew Sheeler.