Calmatters: California Unemployment Agency Paid $4.6 Million In Monthly Fees For Unused Cellphones

"The Employment Development Department's excessive cellphone bills date to the COVID-19 pandemic, when it shifted call center employees to remote work and faced pressure to release benefits to millions of suddenly unemployed Californians. It acquired 7,224 cellphones and wireless hotspots by December 2020. State auditors analyzed 54 months of invoices since then and found half the devices were unused for at least two years, 25% were unused for three years and 99 of them were never used at all."

"The investigation, which auditors opened after receiving a tip, identified 6,285 devices that were unused for at least four consecutive months, and said the department spent $4.6 million on monthly service fees for them. From the beginning, the department had about 2,000 more cellphones than call center employees, according to the audit. The gap widened over time after the pandemic ended and the department's staffing returned to its normal headcount."

"As of April, the audit said the department had 1,787 unemployment call center employees, but was paying monthly service fees for 5,097 mobile devices. "Although obtaining the mobile devices during COVID-19 may have been a good idea to serve the public, continuing to pay the monthly service fees for so many unused devices, especially post-COVID-19, was wasteful," the audit said."

The Employment Development Department acquired 7,224 cellphones and wireless hotspots by December 2020 after shifting call center staff to remote work during COVID-19. Analysis of 54 months of invoices showed half the devices were unused for at least two years, 25% unused for three years, and 99 devices were never used. Investigators identified 6,285 devices unused for at least four consecutive months and calculated $4.6 million spent on monthly service fees for unused devices. The department initially held about 2,000 more devices than call center employees; as of April there were 1,787 employees but service fees for 5,097 devices. Department officials said they were unaware of the spending despite regular Verizon invoices.

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