E - Employment development department - Branches 3

Each year, EDD pays out more than $6.2 billion in Unemployment Insurance benefits and receives and processes more than 2.4 million new claims. California's Unemployment Insurance program is the largest in the United States "in terms of participating employers, revenue collected, and benefits paid". The program is funded by mandated employer contributions "on up to $7,000 in wages paid to each worker," with the tax rate increasing if more former employees make claims on the employer's account.

Besides regular unemployment insurance, additional services provided under the Unemployment Insurance program include Work Sharing, Disaster Unemployment Assistance, and Trade Adjustment Assistance. Work Sharing "allows for the payment of Unemployment Insurance benefits to employees of participating employers whose wages and hours have been reduced"; a person can be eligible for Disaster Unemployment Assistance if the President declares a disaster in his/her area; and Trade Adjustment Assistance "provides special federally funded assistance for workers who lose their jobs or whose hours of work and wages are reduced as the result of trade with other countries".

Workforce Services Branch

The Workforce Services Branch includes several major programs.

The Job Service program (also known as Employment Service) offers services at hundreds of locations statewide and connects one million job seekers with employers each year. One of the largest public employment services in the world, it is authorized by the federal Wagner-Peyser Act as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. Job seeker services include job referral, job search workshops, placement services, and special assistance to individuals who are experiencing difficulty in finding work. Services to employers include matching job openings with qualified candidates and specialized recruitment campaigns. Components of the Job Service program include:

    * CalJOBS℠, EDD's Internet-based job and résumé listing system, which lists thousands of job openings and the largest pool of job seekers in California.
    * Several statewide workforce preparation programs and initiatives that focus on preparing adults and youth for the labor force and building the State's economy.
    * Distribution of more than $400 million annually in federal funds statewide to provide training services for adults, dislocated workers, and youth. This includes the Employment Training Network, "a multi-faceted, full-service program... to assist in the development and implementation of effective Workforce Investment Act (WIA) projects and programs."
    * Workforce investment services through comprehensive One-Stop Career Centers (coordinated by the federal Employment and Training Administration) that provide access to a full range of services pertaining to educational activities, employer services, and referrals to other appropriate social services.

The Branch administers the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act) and the California law that expands upon the WARN Act. For example, an establishment that will incur a "plant closing, layoff or relocation of 50 or more employees within a 30-day period" must notify EDD.

Within the Branch, the Labor Market Information Division collects, analyzes, and publishes (e.g., on its Web site) thousands of statistics on agricultural and nonagricultural industrial employment; occupational duties, skills, wages, and staffing patterns; and labor force statistics and characteristics. The Division provides employment and unemployment data; economic development and planning information; industry and occupational characteristics, trends, and wage information; and social and demographic information.

The Branch also includes the Governor's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. The purposes of the Committee are to "increase the number of people with disabilities in the California workforce" and "to ensure improved employment opportunities for people with disabilities."

Resources

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