I am ashamed to live in California [View all]

[ripcord]

https://abc7news.com/edd-benefits-cut-california-unemployment-coronavirus-pandemic/8018764/

As we've reported, the EDD has shut down 350,000 unemployment claims, trying to weed out fraud. However, it's inadvertently cut benefits to legitimate workers all over the state.

They say their only source of income has been locked up for months and many had nowhere to turn except 7 On Your Side.

The EDD says it's blocking suspicious accounts; mostly those with multiple claims at one house. But workers say they've proven they're legitimate, and still EDD won't release their money. Now it's separated one mom from her kids.

Roxzan Macon provided in-home care to the elderly until the pandemic hit, all but ending home visits. Thankfully, unemployment benefits kept her going.

Until now.

"I was getting groceries for myself and my kids," Macon said. "We were in Walmart and the transaction was declined. And it said the account was closed."

Her EDD account still had $9,000 in it. But when she tried to use it, she saw this ominous message: "Your account cannot be accessed."

"I had a yard sale," Macon said. "I had to sell clothing and stuff just to buy food and stuff."

It wasn't enough.

Macon said, "How can you tell the kids, 'No, you can't have anything to eat. No, we don't have enough noodles. We don't have any noodles.' How much are noodles? Get noodles, a pack of noodles for 30 cents right now. That's heartbreaking for a parent as an adult to tell a child that they can't have anything to eat. It's very sad."

If only the EDD would unlock her account.

"They yell at you for calling every day, 'Well we got your notes, you called earlier, just have to give us time,'" Macon said.

"It's gonna be three months," she continued. "It's gonna be the first of the year. 'Just give us time to do our job.' Do your job? Really?"

"Makes you feel less than human. Make you feel like trash," Macon said.

She sent her children to live with their aunt. "You don't know how many days and nights I've cried. Absolutely, I'm missing my children. I couldn't properly take care of them."

I can't believe how we are failing these people who are in desperate need, we are the 5th largest economy in the world but this is what happens to people who have nothing. What progressive and compassionate government would cut people off from funding en mass without firm proof of wrongdoing? The fact that this parent can't support her kids because the state unemployment failed and had to send them away is disgusting and something I would expect from a deep red state.