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Lawmakers Send Unemployment Package To Rick Scott

The Legislature on Friday gave final approval to a bill that will cut the duration of state unemployment benefits, linking the time those benefits are available to the strength of the economy.

Following a flurry of last-minute deals, the Florida House approved a measure (HB 7005) in the waning hours of the session that reduces the maximum number of weeks that employees can collect state unemployment benefits and bolsters protections for employers when workers appeal their firings and seek benefits.

Backers say the measure will save business owners about $18 per employee when begins in 2012, though the number would vary depending on the jobless rate.

“It’s a great compromise, a great gift to the business industry,” said Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice. “We don’t create jobs, here but we can create the climate for jobs… This does really help create a very good business climate in the state of Florida.”

The bill would reduce the maximum duration of state benefits from 26 weeks to 23 weeks if the unemployment rate remains above 10.5 percent. If the jobless rate drops below that, the duration of benefits declines gradually, and would max out at 12 weeks if unemployment gets as low as 5 percent. The unemployment rate in Florida in March was 11.1 percent.

The bill does not affect federal unemployment benefits – which can go on for many more weeks – or food stamps. The bill was approved by the Senate on a 27-11 vote. The House followed suit a few hours later, approving the measure 80-38.

Friday’s vote came despite the objections of union representatives who said the changes unfairly target workers during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. They also dismissed the argument that it takes less time for a worker to find a job when the jobless rate is low.

“The business community has convinced the Legislature that they shouldn’t have to pay their taxes,” said Rich Templin, a lobbyist for the labor union AFL-CIO. “The way they’re snaking out of it is to put it on the backs of workers. It’s disgusting. That bill is disgusting.”

The current maximum unemployment benefit dollar amount stays the same under the measure, at $275 a week, which opponents pointed out, is already near the bottom of states. Federal statistics show the state’s average weekly benefit is just over $230.

Employers, who pay into a state trust fund on the first $7,000 of a worker’s wages, have complained that they’ve been hard hit by increases in the tax, which has gone up as unemployment has increased.

Even worse for businesses, the state trust fund has dropped into the red and has had to borrow about $2 billion from the federal government to pay benefits. Interest on that is due, and that payment is being passed on to businesses. Backers including the Florida Chamber of Commerce and others have also focused on the appeals process, which they claim is weighted in favor of employees.

“The big benefits are procedural,” said Tami Perdue, an attorney with Associated Industries of Florida. “We’ve had a lot of employers complaining about when they dismiss an employee for misconduct, the employees are still getting benefits and they shouldn’t. We’re talking egregious stories like theft, drunkenness, stuff like that.”

By Michael Peltier
The News Service of Florida