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WEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - The governor of Florida continues to demand actions and answers after the state’s unemployment system failed millions of Floridians who have found themselves without a job.
Over the weekend, Gov. Ron DeSantis called the system “broken,” and he talked about a lot of issues the system had. DeSantis announced Monday afternoon that he has asked the Florida Inspectors General to investigate the CONNECT system.
“We’re committed to continue to put as many hands on deck as we need to be able to improve this further,” DeSantis said.
Since the start of the pandemic, hundreds of thousands of statewide layoffs have put Floridians out of work, and many have yet to receive unemployment benefits. Thousands of Floridians continue to have problems where they cannot get through; they cannot make phone calls and cannot go online to file any applications.
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried has asked for an investigation because she blames DeSantis for the mess the system has caused.
Meanwhile, DeSantis said the system is something he inherited as governor because it was created under former Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s administration.
For almost two months, Nick Pena has been filling out applications, making phone calls, sending emails and more, but he has not received any help.
“We’re down to May,” Pena said. “I still have yet to ever be able to get through, and I’ve tried at all hours from early in the morning to late in the evening, just before the call center closes. It’s impossible to get through. It’s awful because you feel cheated. You feel helpless.”
U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, D-Fla., said it is about time the governor opened up the investigation, but unfortunately, she believes it’s probably too late.
“It’s obvious that the governor, he’s shown us from the beginning of this pandemic, that he wasn’t prepared to deal with this type of a crisis in our state, and I’m glad to hear that he is launching an investigation, but it’s long overdue,” Mucarsel-Powell said. “I think that maybe the governor wasn’t ready to be governor of a state like the one we have in Florida, where we have not only the unemployment system, but there are other areas in our state that are broken.”
Florida’s Inspectors General gave DeSantis an audit in 2019 that laid out dozens of problems with the system. At that time, nothing was done, but the governor is asking for an investigation.
For now, the governor said the state’s goal is to keep processing new claims as quickly as possible.
“We are in the phase one of the reopening,” DeSantis said. “We’re going to be very measured on that. My hope is that we’re going to be able to get to a situation where these folks are going to be able to go back to their jobs.”
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