Labor Department asks Florida to ditch English-only online unemployment application | The Raw Story: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Civil Rights Center (CRC) issued initial findings Thursday that the state’s requirements that unemployment insurance applications must be submitted online and in English violate the applicants’ civil rights.
In a conference call Thursday afternoon, representatives of the Miami Workers Center and the Federal Employment Bureau said that the decision is a victory for Florida’s unemployed workers who are disabled and for those with limited English capability. These workers, they said, have been “shut out of the system by the onerous online requirements,” including a “skills assessment” section that forces applicants to answer math and reading problems in order to qualify for benefits.
Valory Greenfield, senior staff attorney for Florida Legal Services and counsel for Miami Workers Center, said the decision refutes dramatic changes to Florida’s system for collecting unemployment which took place under Gov. Rick Scott in 2011, including the elimination of paper and phone applications.
