BROWARD COUNTY — An unemployment advocate in Florida is getting ready to sue the state.
Vanessa Brito is trying to get the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, or FPUC, reinstated. That was the extra $300 from the Federal government added to unemployment payments in Florida.
Governor DeSantis eliminated those payments last month, along with more than 20 other states, to try to encourage people to get back to work. Brito started a Go Fund Me page Sunday afternoon to raise money for legal fees, and she said she plans to file in Broward County next week.
Brito said, there is no evidence that eliminating the FPUC makes people go back to work, because many people may not be able to work the jobs that are currently available.
"One, not everybody qualifies for those jobs or has any experience, and second, those are not comparable for what you are making. Your paycheck is not comparable to where you were pre-pandemic," said Brito.
Brito said she has already found an unemployment claimant in Broward County willing to be the plaintiff in the case. If they file next week, Florida will join Maryland, Texas, and Indiana, where there are also lawsuits over the elimination of the FPUC.
