DeSantis extends relief from job searches for Florida’s unemployed
Unemployed workers in Florida got another reprieve from red tape Tuesday when Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered the continued waivers of certain reporting requirements.
“Instead of adding additional steps to access reemployment assistance benefits, Gov. DeSantis has directed the DEO to continue waiving the work search, work registration requirements and waiting week requirement for claimants” through Sept,. 5, the Department of Economic Opportunity said in its end-of-day update.
Before the coronavirus pandemic struck down the state and national economies in March, state law required unemployment applicants to tell the state every week about their job search efforts, and register their work status with the agency.
But given the onslaught of hundreds of thousands of weekly jobless claims descending upon the agency, and the lack of job openings during the pandemic-related shutdowns, many job searches were superfluous as employers either closed their businesses or dramatically scaled back operations.
The so-called “waiting week” has been a fixture of unemployment insurance laws around the country, experts say. It was established to give states time to process initial jobless claims, but critics assert that advances in technology make the wait unnecessary.
The latest waiting week waiver was scheduled to expire Aug. 1.
The waiver extensions came as a federal program providing the jobless with $600 in additional unemployment aid wound down this week. A federal moratorium on residential evictions from properties with government backed mortgages ended July 25, although Trump Administration officials say they want it extended.
DeSantis has yet to disclose whether he intends to again extend a state residential eviction moratorium, which now ends Aug. 1.
Asked at an Orlando news conference Tuesday if he would extend it again, DeSantis replied, “we might.”
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