Exhibit 91, Orange County Register — In re Bank of America California Unemployment Benefits Litigation

Summary

Exhibit 91 in In re Bank of America California Unemployment Benefits Litigation, Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB, filed October 24, 2024 as Document 350-92: an Orange County Register article by Mary Ann Milbourn published March 16, 2011, headlined Unemployment payouts go plastic in July. It reports that California's plan to convert paper unemployment checks to debit cards, saving the state $4 million a year, was delayed until July, seven months later than planned, according to Employment Development Department spokeswoman Loree Levy. It reports that Bank of America won the contract to provide the Visa-branded EDD debit cards. It describes problems in a test with disability insurance and paid family leave claims, including transfers arriving one or two days late and claimants throwing out their cards, and compares that roll-out's 400,000 claimants with the unemployment program's 1.3 million.

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EXHIBIT 91
Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB     Document 350-92     Filed 10/24/24     PageID.11792
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BUSINESS
ECONOMY
Unemployment payouts go plastic in
July
By MARY ANN MILBOURN I Orange County Register
PUBLISHED: March 16, 2011 at 8:00 a.m.
California's plan to convert paper unemployment checks to plastic debit cards -
and save the
state $4 million a year -
has been delayed until July, seven months later than originally
planned, a state Employment Development Department spokeswoman said.
Loree Levy said the conversion to debit cards, which_was supposed_to_be __ launched_in
December, is being postponed to give programmers more time to make the hundreds of
changes to EDD's 1970s-era computer system.
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EDD wants to make sure that the funds get properly transferred into claimants' accounts
without any major hitches, Levy said.
Bank of America won the contract to provide the Visa-branded EDD debit cards. Under the
program, EDD will deposit unemployment payments directly to the claimant's debit card once
the BofA account is activated. The EDD debit card can be used anywhere a regular BofA debit
card is accepted.
Claimants also can choose to have the funds deposited directly to their own, non-BofA, bank
account.
EDD conducted a test drive of the p_r._c:,_9ram beg:i_'.1.!.'.i_'.1.9 in December, when it began
converting claims for disability insurance and paid family leave to debit card payments.
Levy said EDD discovered two recurring problems in that initial phase. During the first week,
the transfers to debit card accounts usually showed up one or two days later than when an
unemployment check typically would arrive.
In addition, claimants who had the funds transferred into an account with a smaller bank
sometimes saw their payments delayed as much as four or five days if they failed to be
deposited on a Friday before a three-day holiday weekend.
EDD also had a problem with training claimants how to use the cards. Some threw out their
debit card after using up the funds in the first payment not realizing it is like an ATM card and
must be retained and reused.
And then there was the weather. BofA only produces the embossed debit cards in two locations.
California's come from Atlanta. When snow closed down the Atlanta airport in January, the
cards were delayed several days.
The roll-out of the disability insurance debit cards, which involved 400,000 claimants, was
nothing compared to the unemployment insurance program, which has 1.3 million claimants
and almost as many variations on the payouts as there are people receiving benefits.
"With all the unemployment extensions, it adds a lot more complexity to the (computer)
programs," Levy said.
She said the debit card has been well received by those getting disability and paid family leave.
"They love the fact they can use it anywhere, manage their money online and manage their
account like a debit card," Levy said. "They love the flexibility."
Do you think unemployment should be paid by debit card? Vote on our poll H_ERE.
Read more about jobs and the economy on Handling __ Hard __ Times.
(f) The Trust Project
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2011
March
16
Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB     Document 350-92     Filed 10/24/24     PageID.11795
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