Local EDD staff being moved

Services will still be available through Employment Connection

Several workforce development services staff with the Employment Development Department (EDD) located in the Employment Connection office in Porterville will be transferring to America’s Job Center of California in Delano on Friday, Feb. 16.

The Employment Connection Center, located at 1063 W. Henderson Ave., Porterville, is not closing. It is overseen by the Workforce Investment Board of Tulare County and offers a variety of services to job seekers through partner organizations.

Adam Peck, the executive director of WIB, said the reason for transferring the EDD employees has to do with budget constraints.

“I was told that they had to cut back on the number of offices where they had staff,” Peck said. “They had to consolidate some staff.”

Jonathan Thompson, the manager at the Employment Connection in Porterville, said all Edd-related services such as unemployment, disability insurance, paid family leave and payroll taxes among others, will continue to be offered at the local office by partner staff.

“We will help connect them with EDD representatives to service their needs,” Thompson said, adding, “There won’t be any closure or lapse in service at all.”

Thompson noted that there are approximately 30 employees that work in the Employment Connection office. He said approximately five of those employees that currently work in the EDD section of the office will be transferred.

Thompson said the public will still be able to go to the Employment Connection office in Porterville for job search assistance and for assistance in paying for the cost of training among other services offered.

“All of the services that are currently offered here will continue to be available for customers,” Thompson said.