If you’ve ever had an employee walk into your office, or flood your inbox, frustrated with the Employment Development Department (EDD), you know how tough those conversations can be. They’re stressed, unsure if they’re doing things right, and often left in the dark after filing. These experiences aren’t just one-off, and it’s not just a handful of stories. In building our EDD support program, we’ve combed through thousands of employee feedback points, and the themes are remarkably consistent: the process is confusing, delays are endless, and reaching someone at the EDD feels impossible.

For HR teams, the solution might seem obvious: what if our third party administrator just files on behalf of our employees? Wouldn’t that make things easier?

It sounds like a silver bullet. Take the responsibility off the employee’s shoulders, smooth the process, and prevent headaches. But here’s the hard truth: filing for employees doesn’t actually solve the problems that make the EDD so difficult to deal with. In fact, it creates new ones.

Why filing on behalf isn’t the answer

Input doesn’t prevent delays or denials

Even if a third party fills out every line of the form, claims can still be delayed or denied. The EDD’s systems flag answers, misplace documents, or apply errors of their own. The bottleneck isn’t only at the point of input, it’s in the layers of bureaucracy behind a curtain that is next to impossible to get a peek behind.

The EDD won’t talk to anyone but the employee

Legally, the EDD cannot discuss claim details with a third party, even with power of attorney (POA) in place. That means when something goes wrong—and it often does—the employee is still the one who has to pick up the phone and argue their case. Filing on their behalf doesn’t change that frustrating reality.

Power of attorney creates a communication tangle

Even with permission in writing, the EDD sends notices and updates directly to the employee, who then has to forward them to the third party. It quickly turns into a messy game of telephone, where critical details can get lost or delayed. Instead of clarity, employees get more confusion.

Healthcare providers still hold the keys

Every claim requires documentation from a licensed healthcare provider. That’s something no administrator, HR team, or third party can supply. Filing on behalf doesn’t change the fact that employees must still track down and coordinate with their doctor’s office.

Put simply: the root problems (delays, inaccessibility, and miscommunication) aren’t solved by someone else hitting “submit.” Employees are still left waiting, confused, and stressed.

The human cost of getting it wrong

Behind every claim is a person trying to balance their health, family, and paycheck. When they’re stuck in the EDD maze, they’re not just frustrated—they’re anxious about making rent, paying medical bills, or caring for a new child. For HR teams, that frustration often spills over in the form of late-night emails, escalating complaints, and hours spent trying to explain a system even experts struggle to navigate.

So the question isn’t “Who should file?” The question is, “How do we truly support employees through this system that wasn’t designed with them in mind?”

How Larkin tackles the problem differently

Instead of offering a band-aid solution like filing on behalf of employees, Larkin takes a three-pronged approach that addresses the actual pain points: expertise, access, and guidance.

Expertise

We start by equipping employees with the knowledge they need before they ever submit a claim. Our dedicated EDD Help Center brings everything into one place: checklists, EDD-approved guides, FAQs, and step-by-step digital walkthroughs. These resources aren’t just generic how-tos. They’re designed to flag the common pitfalls that lead to denials or delays. With 25+ years of claims administration experience and over 172,000 California claims filed, we’ve seen the mistakes employees most often make and built tools to prevent them.

Access

Knowledge is only half the battle. The other half is actually getting through to the EDD. That’s why we use an automated dialer that does the hold time for employees. It repeatedly calls until it reaches a live representative, then connects the employee directly. This gets employees through up to eight times faster than doing it alone. Instead of hours of missed calls and phone tag, employees actually get a chance to resolve their issues.

Guidance

And when an employee still feels stuck, we don’t hand them a packet and wish them luck. Through our EDD resources, employees can book a live screen-share with their personal Larkin administrator who walks them through filing in real time. From login to final submission, someone is right there with them—answering questions, clarifying confusing instructions, and making sure nothing is missed.

The real solution is partnership

Filing for employees might sound like the easy answer, but it sidesteps the reality of the EDD’s system. What employees need isn’t someone to type on their behalf. They need a partner who helps them understand, navigate, and get through the process without feeling abandoned.

That’s the difference with Larkin. We don’t just file paperwork. We deliver expertise, access, and guidance that actually untangles the EDD maze and gives employees the confidence that someone’s in their corner. Because at the end of the day, solving the EDD problem isn’t about finding a shortcut. It’s about giving employees real support when they need it most.