Florida says it’s fixing its unemployment mess. But it’s still a mess
Here’s one way for frustrated jobless workers to expedite payment of their unemployment benefits: Sue the agency that’s handling their claims.
That’s what happened when several workers sued the Department of Economic Opportunity last week, according to Tallahassee lawyer Marie Mattox. Once the lawsuit hit the local courthouse, the agency suddenly found the wherewithal to pay her clients whose names appeared atop the lawsuit, which names the agency and Gov. Ron DeSantis as defendants.
Mattox says she wants a Leon County Circuit Court judge to declare an emergency and order expedited payments to tens of thousands of Floridians who have been frozen out of the agency’s beleaguered online claims system since March 15 or denied payments without explanation.