NR No. 22-02
Contact: Loree Levy/Aubrey Henry
916-654-9029
mediainquiries@edd.ca.gov
SACRAMENTO—The California Employment Development (EDD) today issued further updates on California’s unemployment and disability insurance programs, including continued scam prevention efforts and language access improvements
EDD continues making significant investments in advancing multilingual services and outreach to California’s diverse communities. EDD expanded its Language Line Solutions, an interpretation service that assists callers in hundreds of languages. Customers can also select from 52 spoken language options in UI Online as their preference for speaking with EDD.
EDD also continues work to establish a Language Access Office dedicated tofurther expanding interpretative and translation services and projects across the Department. EDD is actively recruiting to fully staff this effort.
ID.me, the identity verification platform EDD uses for claim filing, also continuesboosting language support, with staff proficient in Armenian, Chinese, English, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese.
Proving Self Employment or Employment
EDD sent approximately 1.4 million notices to Pandemic Unemployment Assistance recipients reminding them to submit documents to prove employment or self-employment as required by federal law. Nearly one in five recipients responded so far and over 90 percent of those were found eligible. Additional notices will be mailed to all those who have not responded. Those found ineligible will be sent a notice with an opportunity to appeal and submit additional documentation
To continue helping claimants understand these requirements, EDD has expanded guidance on the PUA Self-Employment and Employment Documentation web page to include this information.
Claimants should gather all necessary documents before uploading them to EDD. Once the claimant electronically signs the form in UI Online and selects “Finish” it is not possible to reopen and upload additional documents. If documents meet federal requirements, claimants will receive a notice confirming eligibility
Claimants who are denied benefits will receive a notice with the disqualification reason and information about how to appeal within 30 days and include any further documentation,
Blocking Scammers and Verifying Disability Insurance Medical Providers
EDD took action in recent weeks to clamp down on a new disability insurance (DI) identity theft scam involving suspected organized criminal elements filing false DI claims using stolen credentials of individuals and medical or health providers. Disability insurance claimants have continued to receive payments if they were not associated with the recent scam attempts.
EDD suspended account activity for approximately 27,000 suspicious medical provider registrants and 345,000 claims associated with those providers or other suspicious activity. While the majority of these providers and claims were likely fraud attempts, the Department has partnered with state regulators and medical provider organizations to coordinate the verification process to clear any legitimate claims as quickly as possible. This is EDD’s top priority. That includes working to contact all claimants who have had their claim held up in this identity theft scam.
Purported medical providers must complete further identity verification with ID.me to potentially certify any disability claims. These personalized requests for medical provider verification through ID.me only come from an official EDD email address ending in @edd.ca.gov. Medical providers who receive emails with information about how to verify identity through ID.me should carefully confirm the sender’s @edd.ca.gov email address.
Scammers attempt to impersonate government agencies in an attempt to trick people into clicking fake links. Such scam efforts are unfortunately common and slow verification and payment for legitimate claimants and providers.
Californians should safeguard financial and personal information online and elsewhere and remain vigilant to guard against identity theft. Those who receive communications from EDD regarding a medical provider online account being created in the DI system, or an application for public benefits (such as disability or unemployment insurance) and believe someone filed the claim falsely, should file a fraud report by visiting Ask EDD and selecting the Report Fraud category to complete the Fraud Reporting Form. Identity theft victims may also want to file an identity theft report with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). EDD continues to enhance and update information on the Help Fight Fraud webpage.