SAN DIEGO — There is still no end in sight for the standoff on unemployment benefit payments at the federal or state levels.
News 8 spoke to a worker who lost his job in May at the University of San Diego and he is still waiting to receive more than $7,000 in claim money.
“I’m looking for work. I have been diligently looking for work,” said Robert Hester Jr., who was laid off as a USD student shuttle driver because of the pandemic.
“My supervisor came to me and said, ‘Hey, I've got some bad news. We need to lay off some people. COVID-19 has affected us and today's your last day,’” said Hester.
He filed an unemployment claim, wrote two letters to the state Employment Development Department, and tried repeatedly to get through to EDD on the telephone lines, but no luck.
Hester, 69, has been dipping into his savings and retirement accounts to make ends meet.
“So, that's what I've been living on to get things taken care of, and calling my creditors and begging them to be patient,” said Hester. “I have to work. I can't afford to retire. There's no way retirement is going to be in the equation.”
Recently, Hester received a notice from EDD that he can start certifying for future benefits but he figures the agency owes him about $7,700 dollars in back benefits.
“Many of my friends and colleagues and family members have just been put through the mill. So, I just thought it was important to speak out. It's just unacceptable,” Hester said.
In Sacramento, there has been no response from Governor Gavin Newsom's office about a proposal by state lawmakers to pay benefits now and review the backlog of EDD claims later.
On Monday, Newsom said an executive order signed by President Trump to pay unemployed workers $400 dollars per week would not pencil out. The order requires states to kick in 25% or $100 per week per unemployed worker.
“The state does not have an identified resource of $700 million per week that we haven't already obliged. There is no money sitting in the piggy bank,” Newsom said.
The executive order was issued as more than 1.1 million unemployed Californians continue to wait for their claim benefits to come through.
“Personally it's a major stress. It's just so frustrating,” said Hester.
News 8 has reached out to Hester's state assembly member and state senator to see if they can assist him in getting his back pay from EDD and will report any response in future stories.