EDD halts some unemployment payments amid widening fraud problems [Mercury News]
Jan. 5 A widening fraud problem has prodded the state Employment Development Department to suspend unemployment payments to some California workers even as coronavirus-linked business shutdowns have left people without a job.
The halt in payments for an unspecified number of workers comes at a time when the EDD is reporting that a backlog of unpaid unemployment claims has again begun to swell.
The brutal bottom line: Many California workers now face suspended unemployment payments due to fraud concerns, a logjam of unpaid legitimate claims, and a loss of work because state and local agencies have imposed business closures to help combat the spread of the coronavirus.