A Message from Secretary Julie A. Su:

I write this in the midst of the eruption of righteous anger across our State and the nation. With my staff, I have shared my personal reflection on this difficult moment—there are so many things that make me feel disheartened right now, and I know I am not alone. From the death of George Floyd, to the persistent and unprecedented demand for unemployment benefits, to the risks front line workers are facing—I am driven to continually push the teams that make up the Labor Agency to do more. It is not easy, we do not always succeed, but we must resolve our pandemic challenges, plan for a successful economic recovery, prepare for future crises, and recommit ourselves to racial justice and equity in everything we do.

I have debated on sharing this with you, but each and every email I receive from a Californian who needs LWDA’s help stirs emotion and action for me. Over the last week, I received several thousand emails in my inbox. My staff’s phones are ringing off the hook and every last person within the Agency is trying to respond to the uptick in a request for assistance. There are not enough of us, our systems are outdated, and we are all already working around the clock.

So many Californians are angry, frustrated, and tired. The government’s role should never be one of judgment or unhelpfulness. So I want to explain to you, how we are approaching the moment:

1. Inclusion: The pandemic has magnified the problems in our economy, among them access to quality jobs. For these individuals, the California Workforce Development Board (CWDB) is leading the charge to invest in and support those industries and employers that will commit to good jobs with benefits. We have no other option but to continually push for equity in every economic plan.
2. Strategic Solutions: Our hand has been forced by a pandemic. Prior to this moment, we marked 120 months of economic boom, which meant EDD was severely understaffed to deal with the volume of claims filed. You may have heard EDD Director Sharon Hilliard discuss the current hiring of 1,800 new EDD employees. We continue to put every tactic on the table to solve for demands as they arise. There is so much we need to do, so as we realistically acknowledge our limitations—I asked EDD to strategically approach the administration of claims in 4 buckets—ID verification, pending, penalty weeks, and disqualified—to prioritize solutions that address systems issues for people who are still waiting. The value of bringing benefits solutions to scale will help address the patterns of questions raised by claimants. EDD nor LWDA has the staff to respond to each and every inquiry, though we do try. We must work strategically. This is the same approach I took as the Labor Commissioner when I addressed the need to adopt strategic enforcement approaches. We also need to build a customer-centered, user-friendly UI system in California. Know that with every fix we are putting into place, this is my goal. We as public servants can and will do better.
3. Bringing in Smart People: If you have not met her, we are so fortunate to have DIR Director Katie Hagen join our team earlier this year. Like me, Director Hagen is pushing for solutions that solve issues at scale. Working with Cal/OSHA Director Doug Parker, she is coordinating across agencies to gather more industry contacts and ensure worker health and safety guidance is even more targeted as Cal/OSHA puts life-saving guidance into the hands of employers and workers who desperately need this guidance.

All of this is to say, even in the face of a rough week, I appreciate your partnership, your encouragement, and your demand for government to continue to do better as we work to build a California for All.

With gratitude,

Julie A. Su
California Labor Secretary