Margaret Good calls on Labor Department to ensure Floridians get unemployment checks

Rep. Margaret Good called on U.S. Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia to personally step in and ensure $600 unemployment supplements reach Floridians.

The move comes as the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity still struggles to process unemployment claims.

“The Florida Unemployment system is broken—just today we learned it is again down, this time for three days,” said Good, a Sarasota Democrat.

“For weeks, we have been waiting for the federal unemployment disbursement to be distributed, especially to independent contractors, the self-employed, and gig workers.”

The state unemployment system’s paralysis comes as a record number of Floridians — 505,000 just last week — apply for benefits after losing jobs at businesses closed down amid a pandemic.

The $600 checks referenced in Good’s letter are tied to funding approved by Congress in the CARES Act, an economic rescue package addressing economic fallout from the crisis.

Florida promises only up to $275 a week in unemployment claims and for only 13 weeks. DeSantis agreed to make benefits retroactive to the date of lost employment after March 9 but has not addressed calls to increase state payments or extend the time checks will be paid.

Right now, Good said she’s concerned whether enough Floridians are receiving checks at all.

“It is well documented that Florida’s unemployment system is dysfunctional,” she wrote in her letter to Scalia.

“Despite attempts to upgrade computer systems, hire additional staff, and change leadership, the system continues to fail Floridians. For the last five weeks, Floridians have attempted to navigate the unemployment application process. Many of these workers are still waiting for their applications to process with no relief in sight. Some workers who applied in mid-April have received full benefits, while many who applied in March or early April are still waiting for their applications to be processed. “

She’s equally concerned about uneven payments in federal support.

“There seems to be no rhyme or reason to who is receiving benefits and who isn’t,” she wrote. “Some have received the $600 federal supplement, but many have not.”

Good serves now in the Florida Legislature, but qualified Friday as a candidate for Congress, challenging Republican incumbent Vern Buchanan in Florida’s 16^th Congressional District.

Floridians cannot wait for expected support from Washington as the economic problems in Florida continue to compound, Good said.

“The state of Florida is failing its residents and we need the Department of Labor to intervene and facilitate getting money into the hands of Floridians,” she said.

“We cannot wait another day.”