BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 391
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Date of Hearing: April 13, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
Sandre Swanson, Chair
AB 391 (Pan) - As Introduced: February 14, 2011
SUBJECT : Workforce development: one-stop centers.
SUMMARY : Requires the Employment Development Department (EDD),
on or before July 1, 2012, to provide in-person unemployment
benefit assistance in at least one comprehensive state one-stop
career center in each workforce area, as defined. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Requires that the unemployment benefit services provided in
the one-stop centers pursuant to this measure shall be funded
with existing monies available to EDD for the administration
of the unemployment insurance compensation program. Also,
requires EDD to reallocate existing resources, including staff
and equipment to implement the assistance, as defined.
2)Repeals the measure as of December 31, 2015, unless a later
statute is enacted to extend or delete that date.
EXISTING FEDERAL LAW establishes the federal Workforce
Investment Act of 1998, which provides for workforce investment
activities that states may participate in.
EXISTING STATE LAW :
1)Establishes the California Workforce Investment Act, requiring
the California Workforce Investment Board (Board) to assist
the Governor in performing specified duties relating to the
development, implementation, and promotion of various
workforce development activities, job training, and employment
investment and work incentive programs, as specified.
2)Declares, under the California Workforce Investment Act, that
it is the intent of the Legislature to deliver comprehensive
workforce services to job seekers, students, and employers
through a system of one-stop career centers to, among other
things, make job outreach, intake, job search and placement
assistance, and other related services available in one
location.
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3)Provides for the payment of unemployment compensation benefits
to eligible unemployed persons during the period that the
person is unemployed, and requires the EDD to implement and
administer the unemployment compensation program.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : The UI Program, administered by the EDD, is a
federal-state system that provides unemployment compensation to
workers who lose their job through no fault of their own.
According to EDD, in the 1990s, the business world embraced
computer technology and even the World Wide Web, leading the way
towards a new phase of EDD where telephone and online services
took the place of in-person assistance. Today, unemployed
individuals can file for benefits on-line, by telephone, mail or
fax. EDD offers some in-person assistance for the filing of a
UI claim; however, individuals with questions on an existing
claim are directed to contact one of the EDD call centers for
assistance, submit inquiries online or by mail.
With California's unemployment rate at 12.2%, as of February
2011, unemployed workers are in great need of UI benefits to
sustain their families through this difficult economy.
Unfortunately, due to this unprecedented demand for UI benefits,
many unemployed workers are struggling to access UI benefits.
On April 1, 2009, the Senate Labor and Industrial Relations
Committee held an informational hearing entitled, "Technology at
the Employment Development Department: How to build an EDD that
meets the needs of California." During the hearing the
Committee heard testimony from several UI applicants who shared
their experiences and frustrations in not being able to reach
EDD, either by phone or mail, to apply for benefits.
According to EDD, in the month of February 2011, the number of
people unemployed in
California was 2,202,000. As a result there, is a tremendous
demand for UI benefits and at any
given time there are thousands of people trying to contact EDD
through their call centers, online
or by mail. According to information found in several
Sacramento Bee articles, in the recent past
EDD call center operators have been unable to answer millions of
calls from unemployed
workers wishing to apply for UI benefits or inquire about their
claim. Callers unable to reach
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operators were diverted to a pre-recorded message system that
cost the state an estimated $5.7
million since 2004.
According to the March 2011 California State Auditor's report
regarding the EDD's unemployment program struggles, EDD has
generally attributed its poor performance in recent years to its
high workload and to staffing shortages resulting from a delay
in federal funding. The EDD increased staff and allowed them to
work overtime to try to help improve performance. The Report
points out that one of the most significant actions the EDD has
been undertaking to increase the public's timely access to
unemployment services has been the development of a new phone
system, which it activated at its six primary call centers in
December 2010. According to EDD, its previous phone system did
not have the capacity to handle the call volume. The Auditor's
office performed a capacity analysis which suggests the new
system should be able to handle a higher volume of calls,
allowing callers to access the voice response system. However,
the capacity analysis and early data from the new phone system
suggest that access to agents may continue to be a challenge
Frustrated with being unable to contact EDD by phone or online,
many unemployed workers go to one-stop career centers for
assistance in filing a UI claim and/or with questions on how to
resolve a UI claim problem. Unfortunately, one-stop career
center employees may not be fully trained to perform the work of
UI employees and are often unable to answer UI specific
questions. This bill is intended to improve access to
California's unemployment insurance benefits by requiring that
EDD have available in-person assistance in at least one
comprehensive state one-stop career center in each workforce
area, as specified.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT :
The California Labor Federation strongly supports this bill
stating that bringing trained UI workers into the field offices
will allow applicants and workers to resolve claims issues
quickly and efficiently. They also state, this bill will
provide workers the opportunity to get immediate answers to some
of their claims questions, alleviating the need for corrections
later in the process and is especially valuable for applicants
who may confront language or technological barriers when trying
to access EDD's alternate application methods. Other supporters
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believe this bill would by shifting resources for the in-person
assistance at the one-stop career centers will result in greater
access for more applicants.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION :
A group of employer organizations, which include among others,
the California Manufacturers & Technology Association,
California Retailers Association and the California Chamber of
Commerce oppose this measure, stating that shifting resources
from the current centralized call center to in-person services
does not guarantee more efficiency or better access and doing so
brings with it many logistical challenges that can be costly.
They also state that many centers may not have the appropriate
equipment, the space needed to assist UI applicants, security or
infrastructure to have EDD staff on site. Transferring fully
trained EDD staff from the call centers to the one-stop career
centers further diminishes the quantity and quality of services
provided by already overburdened call centers. Finally, they
argue that an reevaluation of the whole system should be
required prior to any changes instead of a piecemeal approach
this bill would implement.
PRIOR LEGISLATION :
AB 1827 (Arambula/Solorio) of 2010, was substantially similar to
this measure and was held in Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 857 (Galgiani) of 2009, was also substantially similar to
this bill and was held in Senate Appropriations Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
CA Conference Board of the Amalgamated Transit Union
CA Conference of Machinists
CA Official Court Reporters Association
California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
California Teamsters Public Affairs Council
Engineers and Scientists of California
International Longshore and Warehouse Union
Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 21
Service Employees International Union, Local 1000
UNITE HERE!
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United Food and Commercial Workers-Western States Conference
Utility Workers Union of America, Local 132
Opposition
California Chamber of Commerce
California Chapter of the American Fence Association
California Fence Contractors' Association
California Grocers Association
California League of Food Processors
California Manufacturers & Technology Association
California Retailers Association
Engineering Contractors' Association
Flasher Barricade Association
Marin Builders' Association
National Federation of Independent Business
Analysis Prepared by : Lorie Erickson / L. & E. / (916)
319-2091