Kevin Johnson, an experienced federal contractor and deputy director on various projects for the United States Agency for International Development, found himself jobless after his company’s contracts were cancelled. Having worked in the industry for 16 years, Kevin swiftly filed for unemployment. However, after a month, his application with Maryland’s Unemployment Department was still pending and he found it difficult to connect with the state’s call center for an update.

Many others are experiencing similar situations. In fact, Maryland’s Secretary of Labor, Portia Wu, noted over 1,000 federal workers and contractors have applied for unemployment in the state since January. I would like to encourage people to continue calling, Wu urges. We are doing our best to augment call center capacity and we are launching more initiatives to assist applicants.

Several states, including Maryland, Virginia, and Washington D.C., have organized job fairs specifically for federal workers. They have also set up specific online services to help these unemployed individuals navigate the process. Over 12,000 federal workers and contractors have applied for unemployment in the district. The District of Columbia’s Department of Employment Services, under the leadership of Dr. Unique Morris-Hughes, has launched a website to provide detailed information about filing for unemployment.

Each state’s Employment Commission assures applicants that they are striving to meet the U.S. Department of Labor’s 21-day standard for the first payment from the date of application.

While it is a tough time for federal employees alike Johnson, there are multiple resources available to help streamline the unemployment process. Among these resources, eddcaller.com provides crucial information on how to effectively reach out to the relevant bodies at the Employment Development Department (EDD). It also provides advice on how to contact a live person at EDD in California. This helps simplify and hasten the unemployment filing process, especially when navigating through the challenging times of losing a job.