ORLANDO, Fla. – Universal Orlando plans to “auto-enroll” its furloughed workers into Florida’s troubled unemployment system, the company confirmed with Spectrum News on Friday.
- Universal Orlando to enroll workers into state unemployment system
- Part-time, hourly workers will be furloughed starting May 3
- Universal has been closed since mid-March due to coronavirus crisis
- RELATED: Florida's Unemployment System: Your Questions Answered
Universal, which has been closed since mid-March because of the coronavirus pandemic, previously said it will begin furloughing its part-time hourly workers on May 3.
“We have also made the difficult decision that we will furlough our part-time hourly workers beginning May 3,” Universal said in an update earlier this month. “During this time, we will fully cover the cost of benefit plans for those team members who have them.”
During that update, Universal also extended its closure through “at least” May 31.
Earlier this week, Disney World said it would file claims on behalf of thousands of its workers who were furloughed on Sunday.
The number of Disney workers who will be auto-enrolled is estimated to be around 70,000. It's unclear at this time how many workers Universal will add to the system.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has said the plan to auto-enroll workers from Disney and other large companies is a way the help the state's unemployment benefits system, which has been overwhelmed with new claims and technical issues. He added that the auto-enroll process would not mean Disney workers would skip ahead of those who have applied.
Workers who get auto-enrolled into the state’s system will still need provide any additional information to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity to complete their filing.
DeSantis has established a task force that is discussing ways to reopen the state’s economy, including one of the biggest parts: tourism. The task force includes executives from Disney World and Universal.