California lawmakers have advanced legislation that would require two state agencies to share information aimed at stopping pandemic-related unemployment fraud, reports CBS13.
The measure would require the Employment Development Department to crosscheck unemployment applications with inmate records to identify fraudulent claims. This is a common way people collect illegal unemployment payments.
“The notion that this type of fraud occurred simply because two agencies don’t communicate with each other during a global pandemic as we try to figure out how we can help people is actually kind of mindboggling,” said Democratic Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo, a strong supporter of the bill.
“This is a simple, commonsense step” to address “one of the most egregious examples of the department’s failings," said Democratic Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris, who proposed the legislation.
Initially her proposal would have required counties to provide the EDD with jail inmates' names and Social Security numbers.
However, legislative analysts thought that could have negatively impacted inmates serving short jail sentences who might have been deprived of unemployment benefits after they were released, reports CBS13.
Another measure by Republican Senator Shannon Grove that does not include the county jail requirement cleared its first committee last month.
And a third bill by Assemblyman Phillip Chen that includes information from both prisons and jails is awaiting its first hearing, reports CBS13.
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