EDD Update: Employment Development Department's Pandemic Operations.

• Author: Counts, James C., II
• Position: California Tax

During the pandemic, the Employment Development Department (El)l) moved a vast majority of its employees into the Unemployment Insurance Branch to process work claims for unemployment benefits. This caused the Tax Branch to shutdown most of their normal activities.

During this time, the EDD had to identify fraudulent claims and in the rush to approve valid claims, huge amounts of benefits were paid on fraudulent claims.

To help identify and prosecute these fraudulent claimants, the EDD hired former United States Attorney McGregor W. Scott to assist the EDD in ramping up efforts to prosecute fraud and recover fraudulently paid benefits. Also, the EDD's Investigation Unit continues to develop thousands of valuable leads and evidence for local, state and federal investigators and prosecutors.

Field Audit & Compliance Division (FACD) Update

The FACD suspended its enforcement activities in late March 2020 and redirected staffing resources to assist with UI workloads and process obstructed benefit claim referrals received from the UI Branch. All the redirected staff have returned to their respective duties and the FACD has refocused on compliance, education and outreach activities in the past several months.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, FACD field work was suspended on a temporary basis to ensure the safety and security of the staff and the public. Previously, all audit assignments were being done in a virtual forum. With the state's reopening, they recognize their field presence is necessary to ensure employers are compliant with their employment tax responsibilities. Starting July 6, the F?ACD resumed field work for audits and site inspections.

The Tax Branch resumed in-person meetings with auditors and collectors at their place of business. The Compliance Development Operations (aka, Underground Economy Program) also resumed field operations. Several auditors participated in search warrant operations with the EDD Investigation Division and other state agencies. Staff in the Labor Enforcement Task Force (LETF) participated in several DIR-led, on-site business inspections. Similar to the LETF, the Joint Enforcement Strike Force auditors conducted a few outdoor business inspections in August.

The FACD receives benefit claim referrals from the UI Branch and are tasked with determining the amount of wages and the employment status (employee vs. independent contractor) between the hiring rutin and the worker, 'flic UI Branch needs the information...