FL unemployment office doubles staffing over website woes

Florida is preparing to pour even more money in to its struggling $62.7 million unemployment website.

Since launching in October, the CONNECT website has faced technical problems, which have left many struggling to get benefits. The problem has escalated to the level where the Department of Economic Opportunity is actually issuing daily fines to the website’s contractor, Deloitte, and withholding payment.

But now, in an effort to have as little impact on people needing benefits as possible, the DEO has announced a plan to hire 330 more people over the next three months- more than doubling the staff.

A statement obtained by WOKV shows 250 hires between now and March would be for “adjudication”, which it says will “do the most to expedite payments to people who have been waiting the longest.” 80 people will also be hired by February to help in the call center.

The DEO says the have federal funding that can support the increased staffing, although they are not disclosing how much that may cost.

A statement issued from DEO Executive Director Jesse Panuccio says they plan to hold Deloitte accountable for the ongoing problems.