EDD Purchasing Reflects COVID’s Wrath on State Workforce

The state Employment Development Department, bedeviled by technological snafus and a crush of new demand as the COVID-19 pandemic sidelined a big part of the state’s workforce, awarded an $11.5 million contract last month for client call center services.

That award went to Maximus of Reston, Va., as a non-competitive, emergency contract for non-IT services/professional services. The contract, which was awarded Jan. 8 and runs through April 30, is described in the FI$Cal database as “UI1099 Call Center FY 20/21.”  

Maximus, a global company specializing in government services, has contracted with California state government previously, so it’s a known quantity. In September 2018, the California Public Utilities Commission, through the California Department of Technology, awarded a $36 million, 30-month contract to the company to run the California LifeLine Program.  

EDD’s Maximus $11,566,711 contract is the largest awarded by the agency so far in 2021.

In the category of IT Services, EDD’s largest contract so far this year was for $10,078,685, awarded to Impression Technology of Walnut Creek for scanners and maintenance. This contract, which began Jan. 15 and runs through Jan. 14, 2022, was classified as a non-competitive emergency contract.

In the category of IT Goods, EDD’s largest contract award so far in 2021 was for Pure Storage FlashBlade hardware, for $817,097, purchased Feb. 11 through NTT. The contract includes hardware, installation, and software maintenance and support.