Californians Are Fed Up With Their Unemployment System

Online, April 24, 2010 (Newswire.com) - California has been hit hard in this recession and, with figures pegged as high as 24% unemployed and underemployed, it is not surprising that the Employment Development Department is feeling the strain.

The EDD has been so unprepared for this high volume of claims that it has even been taking out radio commercials telling people to use their website rather than call in. In fact it is virtually impossible to get through. Many people have said that it's actually easier to win a prize on a radio contest than to get to a live person.

Other people are filing claims and but having their claim put on hold pending the outcome of a telephone interview. This is nothing new but in the past it would only take a few days to a week. It seems that the turnaround time for an interview now is around three weeks. This means that it can take a month and a half for someone to receive their first check!

People are angry. On blogs across the internet people are unloading their frustrations. One unemployed construction worker was so angry with the system that he learned HTML and built a website just for people to vent their anger. The website name says it all: EDDsucks.com; the subtitle reads "Share your EDD stories and troubles here. You are not alone!"

The creator of EDDsucks.com says that he has recently found a job but will continue operating the site because of the bad experiences that he's had with the EDD. "People need to feel like they are not alone. The vast majority of people come just to read other peoples stories and others feel compelled to blow off some steam. That's what the site is for."

It remains to be seen how the EDD will hold up in the long run. It is possible that people will make a difference just by complaining on a website? Perhaps not, but it does feel good to let out frustrations.