California unemployment agency paid $4.6 million in monthly fees for unused cellphones

"California's unemployment agency kept paying cellphone bills for four and a half years without checking whether its workers were actually using the devices. That's how it racked up $4.6 million in fees for mobile devices its workers were not using, according to a new state audit detailing wasteful spending at several government agencies. 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."

"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. Department officials told auditors they were unaware of the spending, but auditors pointed to regular invoices from Verizon that showed which phones were not being used."

The unemployment agency acquired 7,224 cellphones and wireless hotspots by December 2020 to support remote call-center work during the COVID-19 pandemic. State auditors analyzed 54 months of invoices and found half the devices were unused for at least two years, 25% unused for three years, and 99 never used. Auditors identified 6,285 devices unused for at least four consecutive months and calculated $4.6 million in monthly service fees paid for unused devices. The department maintained far more devices than call-center staff and paid for 5,097 devices while employing 1,787 call-center workers. Verizon invoices showed which phones were not being used.

Read at KPBS Public Media