EDD expands language access options to online portals

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Employment Development Department (EDD) announced Armenian, Korean and Tagalog language options for their online services on Thursday.

The three new languages join English, Spanish, two versions of Chinese and Vietnamese as options for Californians looking to apply for unemployment benefits.

The EDD plans to expand services beyond its unemployment benefits to disability, paid family leave applications and benefit Overpayment services.

"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."

All Californians can now have a better customer experience through the new system as communities can now rely on fewer errors through the application process for speedier payments.

Nearly half of all Californians speak another language besides English over the age of five, according to the US Census Bureau.

This includes nearly 30% for Spanish, nearly 10% for Asian and Pacific Islander Languages and nearly 5% for Indo-European languages.

For more information on the EDD's newest language update or unemployment, visit the EDD website.