Unemployment Comp Changes Coming Monday

Several of the provisions of Florida's new law designed to shore up the state's unemployment compensation fund take effect Monday, including the mandatory Internet filing of claims, instead of in-person or over the phone.

In addition, benefit recipients will be required to contact five employers or visit a state-approved one-stop career center, and submit the information biweekly in order to receive benefits. A skills test for compensation claimants will now be assessed, and benefit checks will not be sent to unemployed workers whose severance pay is greater than the weekly benefit. The maximum weekly unemployment compensation benefit in Florida is $275.

The changes are part of the Legislature's attempt this year to build up the state's unemployment compensation trust fund, which is paid entirely by employers and went from $2 billion in the black to $2 billion in the red thanks to the Great Recession and high unemployment. Florida borrowed from the federal government to cover the skyrocketing claims, as unemployment surged to 12 percent in December. Employers this year were faced with the tripling of the unemployment compensation tax (the minimum amount jumped from about $25 per worker to $75 per worker), as well as special assessments to pay the interest incurred from the federal loans.

Other changes are still on the horizon, as the maximum number of weeks for state unemployment benefits will be reduced from 26 to 23 starting on Jan. 1, 2012. It will be the lowest number of weeks in the nation for unemployment compensation, but workers will still be able to draw down federal unemployment benefits.