What You Need to Know: California’s Armenian, Korean, and Tagalog communities can now apply online for unemployment benefits in their preferred language. This enhancement adds to English, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, and Vietnamese languages already available. Together, these eight languages represent the top spoken languages of working-age adults in California.
SACRAMENTO– Today, the Employment Development Department (EDD) announced that it has further expanded language access options in its myEDD online portal and UI Online for individuals to apply for unemployment benefits via applications translated into Armenian, Korean, and Tagalog.
“Through EDDNext we continue improving the customer experience, including better service for California’s diverse communities,” said EDD Director Nancy Farias. “This major boost to customer service will help millions of Californians in the top eight most frequently spoken languages,” Farias added.
Unemployment customers will also receive timely updates about the status of their claim and payment notifications delivered via email or text message in their preferred language.
The additional language options are available when applying for unemployment benefits through UI Online after logging into myEDD. Next, EDD will be adding language enhancements for the disability or Paid Family Leave applications and Benefit Overpayment Services.
Applying for Unemployment Benefits Online
EDD customers must first create a myEDD account and then register for UI Online, the fastest and most convenient way to apply for benefits and manage an unemployment claim. For languages other than English, customers should select the globe icon at the top of the myEDD login page, revealing a menu of language options (see the following image). Customers are encouraged to indicate their preferred written and spoken language when applying online, which helps the Department to better serve customers seeking multilingual services.
Unemployment customers can get answers to their questions and complete most claim-related tasks through UI Online. Within UI Online, customers can certify for their bi-weekly benefit payments, check payment information, reopen an existing claim, update contact information, reschedule an eligibility phone interview, and send secure messages to unemployment customer service representatives.
The EDD has also established dedicated phone lines in the top languages for unemployment customers who need assistance navigating the claim process.
EDD Language Access Initiatives
Expanding UI Online access adds to the Department’s previously announced efforts to better serve limited English proficient (LEP) individuals – people whose primary language is other than English or have limited ability to read, speak, write, or understand English, including deaf and hard of hearing individuals.
The EDD has already:
- Established a Multilingual Access Advisory Committee that will advise on language considerations that affect people seeking and receiving EDD services.
- Opened an EDD Language Access Office directed by its Language Access Officer.
- Increased its website’s translated content, including vital information about all EDD programs, forms and publications, and contact information, as well as providing access to interpreters in over 200 languages at no cost.
- Provided customers with helpful how-to videos for UI Online in different languages.
Expanding language access to California’s diverse communities is part of EDDNext. The multi-year modernization effort is dedicated to completely transforming the EDD’s customer and employee experiences based on customer research and feedback.
For more information, please visit Language Resources. The EDD will share new updates regarding language access improvements in future news releases and its bi-monthly newsletter, which offers the latest information on major changes impacting EDD customers.
About EDDNext
EDDNext is an ongoing transformation effort that includes updating online applications, contact centers, the claims process, policies, procedures, and forms, to make the EDD experience easier and faster. It involves working with customer service experts, such as Amazon Web Services and Salesforce, to ensure EDDNext is forward-thinking and embraces the best technology and practices. Recently, the EDD started simplifying the unemployment application process by removing some questions and working on a rewrite of the application to make it easier to understand and navigate. The Department also switched benefit debit card services to Money Network which supports providing a new direct deposit option later this year. EDD has also continued to streamline benefit determinations, added customer satisfaction surveys after calls, added text message updates to State Disability Insurance claims, created a new How to Apply for Unemployment guide, launched a new shared customer portal called myEDD, launched dedicated phone lines with EDD staff fluent in California’s eight most commonly spoken languages, and created new multilingual resources pages.
