Good morning and happy Tuesday!
FIRST UP: Don’t forget to join our panel at noon today on diversity in California government. You can find it at sacbee.com and at www.facebook.com/capitolalert. You’ll hear from Sen. Maria Elena Durazo, civil rights attorney Robert Rubin, Luis Alvarado of the Lincoln Project and more.
HOW FURLOUGHS SLOW UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS
As desperate Californians sought help with unemployment insurance claims over the summer, hundreds of employees who could fix their problems were missing work under a state-imposed leave program, according to payroll data.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature instituted a furlough-like leave program for all state civil service employees in July to help address a projected $54 billion deficit caused by the coronavirus outbreak. The leave program generally reduces workers’ pay in exchange for two days off per month.
The furloughs hit the Employment Development Department as its workforce, facing a historic