Florida residents to have easier access to unemployment assistance through new mobile-friendly site

ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida residents can now fill out the application for unemployment assistance from their mobile phone.

The state launched the mobile-friendly site to help more people apply after residents reported having issues filing for unemployment.

Despite a sort of reboot of this website earlier this week problems persisted getting unemployment benefits to those who deserve them.

Read: Florida Democrats push for changes to reemployment assistance

Instead of using Florida’s unemployment claim website, people are turning to places like FedEx stores to get paper forms.

“It was frustrating to say the least," said Kidany Mendoza. "For the last week or so i wasn’t able to get in.”

Sen. Randolph Bracy sent letters Wednesday to the state Senate president and speaker of the house to call for a special legislative session.

He said he also wants to tackle COVID-19 and increase state unemployment benefits. Instead of $275 per week, he’d like to see $400 for 26 weeks instead of 12.

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“I’m talking about a permanent change,” Bracy said. “I think this pandemic really shows how meager our unemployment package is.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis has already waived some restrictions to allow more people to receive benefits during the pandemic.

The new website looks simple on the registration page, but once one registers it seems very ‘un’ user friendly without a lot of clear navigation instructions.

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