Florida Unemployment Problems Persist as Extended Benefits Likely to End
Florida Department of Economic Opportunity is currently behind other states in its pacing to pay out state and federally-backed unemployment claims.
Since March 15, Florida DEO has paid out $1.5 billion in state claims and another $4.6 billion in federal unemployment benefits as part of a deal with the U.S. Treasury.
The federal benefits of $600 per week are above the state’s $275 weekly benefits. Some have called Florida’s program the “stingiest” in the nation with one of the lowest benefit payouts and shortest periods: 12 weeks.
Florida law does provide extended benefits, with caveats.
Florida law provides one extra week of benefits for every 0.5% the state’s unemployment rate grows above 5%, with a max benefit payout of 23 weeks. However, the unemployment rate would have to hold above 5% and extended benefits would not go into effect until the third fiscal quarter in October 2020.
As part of the CARES Act, Congress approved funding for four months of $600 weekly unemployment benefits with an end date of the last week of July.
Floridians Demand Action
With a spiking number of coronavirus cases and families falling further into financial and emotional debt because of the state’s delay in paying out benefits, frustrated Floridians are pleading for more to be done.
“Florida’s unemployment website has been an unmitigated disaster and we still see hundreds of thousands of Floridians who still haven’t received their unemployment benefits,” said Rep. Darren Soto of Kissimmee.
Soto supports recent calls for the federal oversight of Florida’s administration of its unemployment system.
Call it “uniquely poor’, New York Sen. Chuck Schumer and Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, sent a letter last week to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Inspector General asking it launch a review of the agency’s oversight of Florida’s DEO.
“The shame is it took senators from New York and Oregon to point it out in committee meetings when it should be our senators fighting for it,” Soto said.
Much blame has been given to Florida Sen. Rick Scott, who in 2014 approved and oversaw the funding for the rollout of the state’s current unemployment system as governor. Critics say the Deloitte-designed system was intentionally created to delay and avoid paying out claims.