A pair of organizations who advocate for unemployed Floridians say a state law passed last year makes it too difficult for people without work to get unemployment benefits.
In a filing with the U.S. Department of Labor, the National Employment Law Project and Florida Legal Services blasted changes to the process for applying for or receiving benefits, including the requirement of a 45-question test.
“Under the federal-state unemployment insurance program, states have an obligation to ensure that involuntarily unemployed workers who meet basic eligibility criteria are able to access benefits that provide temporary partial wage replacement between jobs,” the groups said, asking the federal agency to review the claims. “Florida is no longer fulfilling that obligation.”
Lawmakers approved the changes in 2011 in what supporters promoted as an effort to make the unemployment system more solvent.
