Truth matters. Community matters. Your support makes both possible. LAist is one of the few places where news remains independent and free from political and corporate influence. Stand up for truth and for LAist. Make your year-end tax-deductible gift now.
Some Californians Have Gone Months Without Unemployment Benefits While Waiting For Extensions
A woman enters a Los Angeles office of the state Employment Development Department. The EDD released dismal employment figures today, showing that 1-in-5 L.A. County workers are jobless. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)
California’s unemployment office has processed an unprecedented number of claims since the coronavirus pandemic began. But those who’ve already run out of benefits are still waiting for the state to process extensions outlined in recent federal legislation.
Some Californians have now been going months without benefits, and desperation is setting in.
“It's not a comfortable way of living, knowing that there's a good chance you could lose everything in just a month or two,” said Richard Torres, a Riverside father who exhausted his unemployment benefits in mid-April.
California’s unemployment department has said it will begin automatically filing extensions on May 27 for those with exhausted claims, as long as they first started receiving benefits on or after June 2, 2019. But some may have to wait until June, or even July, before payments start to arrive.
READ OUR FULL STORY ABOUT UI EXTENSIONS:
Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter. To support our non-profit public service journalism: Donate Now.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
