News

Miami Workers Center Charges UC Program with Discrimination

  • 12/12/2011
  • Valory Greenfield
  • Florida Legal Services

Miami Workers Center Charges UC Program with Discrimination

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. Miami, Florida, (November 21, 2011) – Miami Workers Center (MWC)), a Florida non-for-profit 501(c)3 organization based in Miami, Florida, has filed an administrative complaint against Florida’s Unemployment Compensation Program with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Civil Rights Center in Washington, D.C. MWC’s complaint names the Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) as the agency responsible for Unemployment Compensation and charges that the program is inaccessible to persons with disabilities, limited literacy, or lack of English proficiency. MWC is represented by attorneys with Florida Legal Services, Inc. (FLS).
The complaint centers on the state’s new law requiring applicants to complete an online skills assessment before they can get their first check. At the same time, the state law exempts illiterate individuals and persons with language barriers from the skills assessment while federal law protects workers with disabilities. MWC charges, however, that DEO fails to inform people that they can be exempted or accommodated. Most troubling is the complaint’s allegation that when applicants fail to complete the assessment online, they don’t get their benefits even if they have a valid reason for not being able to do the skills assessment.
National Employment Law Project attorney George Wentworth notes, ““Today in Florida, workers who are unemployed through no fault of their own face more obstacles to accessing unemployment benefits than anywhere else in the country. This is the direct result of deliberate actions earlier this year by the Florida legislature and executive branch to make it harder than ever for average workers to apply for the unemployment insurance they have earned through their history of employment.” Florida Legal Services lobbyist Arthur Rosenberg adds, “These hurdles undermine the very purpose of the program: to temporarily help those who lose their jobs and are looking for work.” MWC executive director Gihan Perera notes, “The upshot is that if your disability interferes with using a computer, or you can’t read or understand English well, your benefits can be stopped just because you can’t do some skills test on the Internet.”
DEO is expected to say that anyone can request an exemption from online filing or for special assistance by phone, but attorneys for MWC say that response doesn’t cut it. According to attorney Valory Greenfield, “The Agency is aware that its phone system is inadequate to meet the needs of Florida workers. You can not hide the key to benefit access within a maze that puts people on hold for half an hour.” Attorney Cindy Huddleston adds, “We understand that Internet filing represents an advance in faster claims processing, but that cannot happen at the expense of persons with legitimate barriers to computer use.”
Founded over a decade ago, MWC educates and organizes low-income Floridians to increase the grassroots perspective in governmental decision-making especially with respect to systemic barriers that contribute to poverty.
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CONTACTS:
Valory Greenfield Cindy Huddleston
Florida Legal Services Florida Legal Services
305-573-0092 X 205 850-701-1814
valory@floridalegal.org cindy@floridalegal.org
 

Topics:
  • Civil Rights
  • Employment