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…and that is another one of those things that creep out of the capitol city ( Tallahassee ) with an intent to screw the general public up.
This time around, the legislature is looking at ways to replenish the states unemployment trust fund, so it is now time for those morons to come up with something to make some money. Of course, an increase in taxes is off the table because so many darned businesses already pay to much ( 5% ).
So what can the legislature do?
Lawmakers may shorten the time the state pays jobless benefits, make it harder for laid-off workers to win disputes with employers and force people to take low-paying jobs instead of waiting for ones with salaries matching what they previously earned. Legislators may also change tax rates so businesses hit with steep layoffs are more responsible for helping pay for those workers' benefits.
With so many out of work here in Florida, the state has had to borrow some $2 billion from the feds to be able to pay the unemployment claims. Interest on those loans are coming due in a short time from now, so now the state perps have to scramble to come up with something. I guess that it would have been to hard on them to work on ideas from the beginning.
This is a Repugnican run state so it is no big surprise that the ones needing those checks the most will in most instances be the ones to suffer.
Florida's maximum unemployment payment — $275 a week — is among the lowest payments in the nation. But lawmakers, including Detert, have started asking whether the state is doing enough to prod people into work.
First off, there is not a lot of work in this sorry state, which has it growth in nothing but the construction industry and in tourism. The real estate industry falling to pieces did not help either.
It does not help to be living in a “ right to fuck you
work state. These states pay no living wages to the hourly worker,but want that worker to come into the job every day and then bend over for table scraps.
So what else are the House and Senate going to come up with? Try :
Arthur Rosenberg of Florida Legal Services said lawmakers are "blaming a victim for a situation out of their control." He was especially critical of the proposal in both House and Senate bills that would make it harder for employees to win disputes over benefits, saying it will result in fewer people getting anything.
Currently, a laid-off worker has an advantage, but Rosenberg said that's needed because jobless people can't afford attorneys to fight employers in court.
Both the House and Senate have revealed bills this week that would require an initial skills review for those seeking jobless benefits. Detert said the requirement would help people get direction on possible places that they might seek jobs.
"I don't think it's good for anyone's mental health to stay at home and collect a check," Detert said.
Wentworth also raised concerns about a proposal to require laid-off workers to search for low-paying jobs to retain their benefits. Someone who has received 12 weeks of unemployment checks would have to look for "suitable" work paying as little as $275 a week — or $14,300 a year.
