California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board

Tens of thousands of jobless Californians, rejected for unemployment benefits of up to $450 a week, are awaiting action by a state appeals board swamped with cases, hindered by delays, mired in bureaucracy and tinged with scandal. Although the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board is supposed to decide within 30 days whether the state wrongly denied an individual's jobless benefits, less than 4% of complaints are finished by then, the U.S. Department of Labor says.

Stung by criticism, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger blasted his administration's Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, plagued by a massive backlog in handling appeals of jobless Californians denied unemployment compensation. The board has blamed the governor's policies for at least part of an 82,500-case pileup, citing state-ordered work furloughs for its employees. Now Schwarzenegger is firing back, saying board staff members, including judges, are not working hard enough.

Four senior administration officials named to state jobs in the days before Gov. Gray Davis left office in November won quick bipartisan approval Wednesday from the Senate Rules Committee. The appointments now move to the full Senate for expected approval. Daniel Zingale, former Davis cabinet secretary, and Michael Bustamante, former deputy chief of staff, were confirmed as members of the Agricultural Labor Relations Board, with annual salaries of $114,191.

Tens of thousands of jobless Californians, rejected for unemployment benefits of up to $450 a week, are awaiting action by a state appeals board swamped with cases, hindered by delays, mired in bureaucracy and tinged with scandal. Although the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board is supposed to decide within 30 days whether the state wrongly denied an individual's jobless benefits, less than 4% of complaints are finished by then, the U.S. Department of Labor says.

Stung by criticism, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger blasted his administration's Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, plagued by a massive backlog in handling appeals of jobless Californians denied unemployment compensation. The board has blamed the governor's policies for at least part of an 82,500-case pileup, citing state-ordered work furloughs for its employees. Now Schwarzenegger is firing back, saying board staff members, including judges, are not working hard enough.

Re "Jobless benefit appeals pile up," Feb. 2 I am outraged by the eagerness to blame the past California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board administration for the deluge of unemployment appeals. Yes, there is an enormous backlog of cases. But to scapegoat the previous head of the organization is disingenuous, if not a political ploy by highly paid, inexperienced appointees trying to escape blame for their lack of understanding of the process. With respect to resolving cases within 30 days, the appeals board often does not receive a case until that deadline is close or has even passed.

A state lawmaker wants to end the practice of using the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board as a soft-landing pad for former legislators. Assemblywoman Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) has introduced legislation prohibiting a former member of the Legislature from joining the board for two years after leaving office. AB 263 also would limit the pay of board members to the salary received by members of the Assembly - currently $90,526. Her proposal comes a month after Assemblyman Michael Allen (D-Santa Rosa)

An unusual jury verdict handed down Tuesday ordered the state of California to reinstate a disabled administrative law judge who lost her job when she was permanently assigned to work in Van Nuys--even though her doctor said it was too far for her to travel from her house in Northridge. Eve Cohen, 52, alleged discrimination in a lawsuit filed against the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board when she lost her job of 18 1/2 years.

A federal judge has certified two separate class-action lawsuits against grocery chains Ralphs and Albertsons ? advancing a legal fight between the retailers and 9,000 workers who claim they were illegally denied millions of dollars in benefits during the 2003-04 grocery lockout and strike. FOR THE RECORD: Grocery lawsuit: An article in the Oct. 23 Business section about two separate class-action lawsuits being certified against grocery chains Ralphs and Albertsons said a federal judge had certified the cases.

California is so slow in handling appeals from workers denied unemployment benefits that it may take years to catch up, state officials say. And the backlog is getting worse. With unemployment now at 11.6% in California and rising, there is a record backlog of more than 82,500 Californians who have appeals pending on their eligibility for checks of as much as $475 a week. At the same time, the state is about to furlough for three days a month the judges and support staff who handle the appeals.

Four senior administration officials named to state jobs in the days before Gov. Gray Davis left office in November won quick bipartisan approval Wednesday from the Senate Rules Committee. The appointments now move to the full Senate for expected approval. Daniel Zingale, former Davis cabinet secretary, and Michael Bustamante, former deputy chief of staff, were confirmed as members of the Agricultural Labor Relations Board, with annual salaries of $114,191.

Question: Hourly employees at my company are marked late after clocking in one minute past their scheduled start time. However, we are not paid for working past our scheduled stop time, unless we have worked at least 15 minutes of overtime. We think this is illegal. --S.K., Lomita Answer: It is perfectly legal to discipline employees if they clock in after the start of a scheduled shift.

Strike from the list of state workers' perks a free cellphone on which to gab. Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday ordered tens of thousands of state employees to turn in their mobile phones. Brown, a notorious tightwad, says he can't imagine that their 96,000 cellphones are necessary for the people's business, and he wants the number cut in half. "It is difficult for me to believe that 40% of all state employees must be equipped with taxpayer-funded cellphones," Brown said in a statement.