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Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board reports lower appeals inventory, mixed progress on timeliness goals
Summary
The California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board said Feb. field-office dispositions reduced appeals inventory to 11,575—the lowest since 2020—while some Department of Labor timeliness measures remain short of targets; the board also congratulated an ALJ appointed to the Contra Costa County Superior Court.
The California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board on March 11 reported a continued drop in its appeals inventory and cited steady improvements in processing time while acknowledging some federal timeliness targets remain unmet. Chair Michael Allen opened the meeting in Sacramento and said the appeals-level panel closed 820 cases under the CAM system since the prior board meeting.
Judge Cutri, the board's chief judge and executive director, told members that field offices issued roughly 14,778 dispositions in February and that the statewide appeals inventory fell to 11,575, the lowest level since 2020. "We now sit at the end of February at 11,575 which is the lowest UI appeal inventory since 2020," Cutri said.
Cutri and appellate leadership framed the numbers against Department of Labor (DOL) performance markers. Cutri said the field offices' average case age met the DOL 30-day requirement, closing February at 29.4 days, and closed about 85.4% of cases within 45 days (above the 80% guideline). He said the field offices remained short of the DOL's 60% target for the 30-day measure, closing roughly 45.6% of cases within 30 days.
On appellate-level metrics, Judge Bach, supervising administrative law judge for appellate operations, said the appellate division closed 59.5% of its matters within 45 days for February and reported a case-aging figure of 39.3 days (the DOL standard is 40 days). "We're hoping to meet all three of those Department of Labor goals," Bach said, adding that seasonal timing and meeting schedules can make month-to-month production figures vary.
Board members pressed staff on how short time intervals between meetings can affect perceived production and on whether moving cases among field offices (about 1,400 cases shifted in February) was sustainable. Cutri said CAMS makes case transfers fast and that staff are refining zip-code routing to reduce unnecessary movement.
The board also recognized Administrative Law Judge Carol Bosch of the Bay Area Office of Appeals on her appointment to the Contra Costa County Superior Court. Judge Cutri described Bosch's service since joining the agency in January 2021 and praised her work as a trainer and subject matter expert.
The board approved the minutes of its Feb. 18, 2026 meeting by voice vote and had no public commenters at the start of the session. The board adjourned after routine administrative reports.
