The Florida Department of Health announced that Governor Ron DeSantis directed the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) to temporarily waive certain provisions of the state's unemployment insurance (UI) law to provide for flexibility as outlined by the US Department of Labor to support workers and businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the directive waives the requirement that UI benefit recipients search for work and stipulates that COVID-19 UI benefits are not charged to employers' accounts.

Details of Governor DeSantis' UI directive

In response to the federal "Families First Coronavirus Response Act," which allows states to suspend certain UI claimant requirements pursuant to the COVID-19 emergency, Governor DeSantis issued the following directors to DEO:

• Waive job-search requirements for reemployment assistance.
• Do not require a UI claimant to register with the state job-search portal to actively seek employment.
• Waive penalties on employers that "charge" their accounts for every employee who is laid off. The Governor stated that waiving this penalty will eliminate any incentive an employer may have to keep an employee on the payroll while dramatically reducing or deferring hours, thereby preventing the individual from seeking unemployment assistance.

Access the COVID-19 unemployment insurance resources here.

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