Staff Reports
Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
Many Florida businesses will see their unemployment insurance bills triple next year, based on the Florida Department of Revenue’s newly announced rate increases.
Currently, unemployment insurance premiums start at $7, or 0.1% of the first $7,000 paid to each employee, topping out at $378, or 5.4% of the same $7,000 wage base.
But pandemic-related unemployment claims have drained the state’s unemployment trust fund, and businesses are going to have to pay the bill. The new minimum is 0.29% — or about $20.30 per employee — but the maximum premium remains the same.
According to Carolyn Johnson, the Florida Chamber of Commerce’s business and economic policy director, it’s not a fair shake.
A business’ unemployment premium is calculated based on its size and how often it lays off employees — the more workers at a company who lose their jobs and go on to claim benefits, the more the company has to pay for insurance.
By raising the minimum rate, Johnson said, the businesses that pinched pennies to keep as many employees as possible on the payroll get punished.
The increase is due in part to the number of businesses that closed.
The employees that they let go can collect unemployment benefits, but former employers aren’t around to feed premiums back into the depleted state trust fund, which has run through about half the 4% wage base it had on hand at the beginning of the year.
Still, it could be worse.
“Compared to the increases in the Great Recession, the 2021 increase is pretty moderate,” Johnson said. “But businesses are still struggling, especially with some still at 50% capacity, and this is just another expense added on.”
In 2009, the minimum premium jumped from $8.40 to $130 per employee, but the Legislature intervened to soften the blow. Johnson said the Florida Chamber is forming a working group to explore legislative steps that could similarly help businesses in the upcoming Session.
Coronavirus Numbers
Positive cases:
— 1,012,456 FL residents (+10,656 since Wednesday)
— 16,574 Non-FL residents (+214 since Wednesday)
Origin:
— 9,271 Travel related
— 387,686 Contact with a confirmed case
— 11,090 Both
— 604,409 Under investigation
Hospitalizations:
— 55,820 in FL
Deaths:
— 19,112 in FL
Evening Reads
“RNC invites 2024 hopefuls to January meeting in show of neutrality toward Donald Trump” via Alex Isenstadt of POLITICO
“Pro-Trump legal crusade peppered with bizarre blunders” via Zach Montellaro and Kyle Cheney of POLITICO
“Next for Joe Biden, naming a health care team as pandemic rages” via The Associated Press
“Biden eyes defeated candidates — including Donna Shalala — for key administration roles” via Thomas Beaumont of The Associated Press
“Marco Rubio says he will cooperate with Biden, depending on how the President-elect ‘behaves’” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
“Florida attorney under investigation for registering to vote in Georgia, encouraging others to do the same” via Nicole Carr of WSB-TV
“Postal Service delays disenfranchise thousands of legally-cast ballots this fall” via Noah Prensky of NBCLX
“How did the coronavirus overwhelm a Seminole nursing home so quickly?” via Leonora Lapeter Anton, Kavitha Surana and Kathryn Varn of the Tampa Bay Times
“Debbie Wasserman Schultz falls short in bid for Appropriations chair” via Ryan Nicol of Florida Politics
“Federal pandemic business loans saved 3.3 million Florida jobs” via Alex Daugherty, Rob Wile and Ben Wieder of the Tampa Bay Times
“Life and death in the COVID-19 epicenter” via Dan Barry and Annie Correal of The New York Times
“Secrecy and spin: How Florida’s Governor misled the public on the COVID-19 pandemic” via the South Florida Sun-Sentinel
“Wilton Simpson announces Senate committee assignments” via Renzo Downey of Florida Politics
“Disgraced Republican lawmaker planted no-party candidate in key Senate race, sources say” via Ana Ceballos and Samantha J. Gross of the Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
“Face masks reduced Tampa Bay coronavirus cases by 1.4 million, says USF professor” via C.T. Bowen of the Tampa Bay Times
“Warner Bros. smashes box office windows, will send entire 2021 slate to HBO Max and theaters” via Aaron Couch and Pamela McClintock of The Hollywood Reporter
Quote of the Day
“I’m not just going to be against stuff because Joe Biden’s for it. If it’s something I’m for and he’s for, my job is to do what’s best for the country.” — U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, on whether he will cooperate with the Biden administration.
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