SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Officials say California will not accept new unemployment claims for the next two weeks as the state works to prevent fraud and reduce a backlog as more than 2 million people are out of work statewide during the coronavirus pandemic.
The state announced the two-week pause on Saturday. Nearly 600,000 Californians are part of a backlog where their unemployment claims have not been processed by the state's Employment Development Department for more than 21 days.
The department has been hampered throughout the pandemic by outdated technology at a time when California is seeing an unprecedented wave of unemployment claims.
