TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Three Democratic state lawmakers on Monday called for Gov. Ron DeSantis to immediately overhaul what they argue is a "broken" unemployment compensation system with flaws that can be traced to reforms enacted by the governor's predecessor, Rick Scott.
Here are five questions asked and answered about they system's issues past and present as well as proposed solutions:
1. Why do the lawmakers believe the system is 'broken'?
In a press conference call, Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez (R-Miami), Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando) and Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith (D-Orlando) each reported fielding a bevy of constituent complaints about the state's unemployment benefits application process.
Many of the newly jobless have called the hotline hundreds of times and have yet to reach a claims agent. While the Department of Economic Opportunity's prefers that claimants use its CONNECT website to file claims, countless Floridians have complained of being locked out of the online login process and directed to the jammed hotline in order to obtain a new PIN.
Beyond the technical challenges, the Democrats also say a series of statutory changes approved by Scott are hobbling the ability of Floridians to receive the unemployment benefits they've earned.
2. What are the statutory changes they want overturned?
In 2011, then-Gov. Rick Scott championed a series of unemployment compensation restrictions - ultimately passed by the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature - that dramatically curtailed the amount and duration of benefits and made fewer Floridians eligible for them.
Under the restrictions, the maximum weekly benefit was capped at $275 per week, the maximum duration of benefits was shortened from 26 to 12 weeks, and the burden of proof in appeals cases was shifted from employers to employees. The Democrats say that reversing the Scott-era reforms is critical to prevent legions of Floridians from becoming destitute during the coronavirus crisis.
3. What does Gov. DeSantis say?
The governor has already waived one Scott restriction that had been facing jobless Floridians: they no longer have to apply to at least five jobs per week. We asked if he's considering overturning the three restrictions as outlined by the Democrats and originally proposed in a letter to DeSantis by a group of labor leaders last Thursday; he told us "I have not looked at it, but I will."
4. What about the problematic website?
The website also has its roots in the Scott administration.
During Scott's time in office, the site's design was outsourced to Deloitte. The company was a client of Ballard Partners, the Tallahassee lobby firm run by Brian Ballard, a close ally of Scott and other prominent Republicans.
The job cost taxpayers $63 million, but after it went live, glitches began to pile up. Jesse Panuccio, a Scott confidante who was named director of the Department of Economic Opportunity, told a legislative panel in 2013 that "the associated delay was not due to system error," blaming users for lacking enough familiarity to effectively navigate the site.
Problems with the site have persisted, exploding into public view along with the coronavirus crisis over the last few weeks. The Democrats say the DeSantis administration has a responsibility to fix the blunders now.
5. How about the hotline?
DeSantis says he's directed Department of Economic Opportunity director Ken Lawson to "ramp things up" and hire more hotline staffers.
"The agency was overstaffed just a few weeks ago, probably, from what the claims were," he told reporters last week. "Now we're in a different situation, so I've given them the go-ahead to ramp things up. This is a very sudden increase."