CA SB232

Requires the Employment Development Department to identify elements of the Benefit Modernization System IT project by May 31, 2022, and prioritize implementing those elements to make unemployment benefit payments more timely.

Mandates the department establish a formal policy by May 31, 2022, to track and analyze reasons why claimants call for assistance, with analyses every six months thereafter to improve call center performance and develop targeted staff training.

Requires the department to implement a policy by May 31, 2022, for tracking and monitoring first-call resolution rates and reviewing this data monthly to evaluate effectiveness of caller assistance.

Directs the department to create quarterly workload projections accounting for potential unemployment claim surges and develop contingency plans for significant impact scenarios.

Requires the department to provide a plan for assessing fraud prevention and detection tools by May 1, 2022, submit a progress report by July 1, 2022, conduct annual assessments thereafter, and designate an exclusive unit responsible for coordinating all fraud prevention and detection efforts.