Florida: Jobless residents are suing Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis for closing the unemployment benefits program earlier than expected.
On Monday, unemployed Floridians filed a lawsuit against Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. As Fox News reports, their objection aimed to reinstate a pandemic relief program that paid out an extra $300 a week in unemployment benefits.
Attorneys Gautier Kitchen, Marie Mattox, and Scott Behren filed the complaint on behalf of 10 jobless residents. They claimed that the governor, as well as the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, violated their “clear legal and statutory duty to secure such benefits for employees” by ending the program prematurely.
The barristers representing the unemployed Floridians requested an emergency injunction to force Florida to reinstate the $300 a week benefit until the case is decided. Furthermore, they demand the state to provide a month of retroactive benefits.
According to the lawsuit, “the unemployed of Florida NEED these benefits to pay basic living expenses.”
BREAKING: Florida Unemployment Lawsuit Filed
A group of attorneys filed a lawsuit Sunday in an effort to force the State of Florida to restore $300 weekly extended federal unemployment benefits. pic.twitter.com/5QRV0D3Z2k
— Greg Angel (@NewsGuyGreg) July 25, 2021
Florida is amongst the 26 states that decided to end Covid-19 federal programs that provided out-of-work Americans with an extra $300 a week. Indiana, Texas, and Maryland residents also filed complaints against their respective states. The states of Indiana and Maryland were ordered to continue providing unemployment benefits.
Following the second extension of the programs, they are now set to expire in September this year, affecting about 4 million Americans.
In Florida, the unemployment benefits currently reach up to $275 a week. Adding the federal supplement, out-of-work residents are receiving a maximum of $605 weekly, or roughly $2,420 a month.
However, President Joe Biden and Democrats deny the accusation that Americans prefer to stay home and collect their benefits rather than go back to work.
