About this episode
One Man's Desperate Pursuit of Unemployment Benefits At least seven million Californians have lost their jobs since the pandemic began earlier this year. It took Antonio Rael an estimated 5,600 calls before he could get an Employment Development Department worker on the phone to re-certify his claim. Reporter: Mary Franklin Harvin, KQED Basic Questions Are Clogging the Phone Lines, Says EDD Spokesperson Loree Levy, a spokesperson for EDD, says the agency is in the process of hiring more than 5,000 new workers. She is also encouraging applicants to review the agency's FAQs closely before calling in, and says people have been tying up the phone lines with questions already answered online. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices