If you know someone who has lost their job this year and has tried applying for unemployment benefits in Florida, you may already know that it’s become much more difficult to get those benefits in this state.
According to Reuters, Florida is one of the toughest states in the nation for workers to actually receive unemployment benefits. The Department of Labor (DOL) reports that only 16 percent of perfectly eligible unemployed Floridians receive jobless benefits. This is so low that it places Florida in a tie with South Dakota for last in the nation in the percentage of unemployed workers receiving benefits. Why are we ranked so low?
Critics cite new procedures requiring applications be done exclusively online. There’s no longer a telephone application option for those who aren’t computer-able. Also, the application requires claimants to answer a 45-question online assessment in order to gauge reading, math and research skills. Although applicants can avail themselves of assistance through their state employment agencies or use public library computers, many do not. Some say the process has become a game of “gotcha” to disqualify eligible workers.
Regardless of whether you think the new procedures were well-intended to better assist state agencies to get people back to work, or whether you think it was a diabolical plot designed to discourage people from applying, the numbers show the new procedures are at the very least grossly inefficient. During the “first quarter of 2012, more than 60,000 workers were denied benefits for procedural reasons, an increase of over 200 percent from the year before”. These inefficiencies (and many complaints from users) prompted the National Employment Law Project to file a complaint with the DOL to investigate whether Florida in particular has made it too cumbersome for unemployed workers to get benefits.
So why bring this to your attention dear reader? So that you are aware and pitch-in to help a friend, neighbor or former co-worker who is unemployed but not comfortable using computers, or not comfortable getting assistance from strangers. Offer some hand-holding , or accompany them to the library or local state employment agency where they’ll find assistance. Let’s not rank last for too long.
© Copyright Eva Del Rio
