SAN DIEGO — A North Park senior citizen has certified for more than $8,700 in back benefits from the state Employment Development Department (EDD).
Robert Hester, Jr. lost his job in May as a student shuttle bus driver at the University of San Diego. He applied for unemployment benefits but spent weeks trying to reach EDD.
Hester, age 69, then contacted News 8 and a reporter reached out to Hester’s state assemblymember, Todd Gloria.
Days later, Hester received word that he was eligible for back benefits.
“They released the funds and I’m just over the moon that all of this just came to fruition. I thank you so much,” said Hester, who said he certified for $8,730 in back and future benefits.
“I’ll be able to take care of some of the bills that I had not been able to take care of, so that's helpful,” said Hester.
Todd Gloria said the vast majority of unemployed workers contacting his office are eligible for benefits.
“Mr. Hester’s experience, sadly, is not unique. To this point, my office has received 1,647 inquiries from constituents. We've assisted more than 1,100 of them to get their benefits,” Gloria said.
Due to the pandemic, there is a huge backlog of EDD claims and many claims are held up as the identity of the worker needs to be verified.
“Some of these claims are hung up when someone puts in maybe the wrong birth date or the wrong employer name - something that triggers additional review that delays claim benefits,” said Gloria.
Once an EDD claim specialist looked at Hester’s case, the unemployed worker started receiving certification requests for more than seven weeks of back benefits.
“Getting Todd Gloria involved, you [News 8] involved, and USD writing letters from HR - all of those things helped move it forward,” Hester said.
Hester continues to look for a job and he offered this advice to workers still trying to get in touch with EDD and get claims through:
“I documented everything. When I sent registered letters to the EDD, I had copies. Be sure to do those kinds of things and then you have some kind of recourse in getting what you want in the end,” Hester said.
Assemblymember Gloria said he supports EDD reforms recently presented to Governor Gavin Newsom’s office, including a proposal to eliminate the backlog of claims by paying them now and reviewing the claims later.
“This could provide some level of relief to people right now when they need it. And for the small number of folks who may try to take advantage of this, we have the tools to make sure those folks are held accountable,” Gloria said.