Nelson Says Feds Will Assist with Florida's Troubled Unemployment Website

BRADENTON – U.S. Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) says federal labor officials have assured him that they will be in Tallahassee before the end of the week to “help fix” Florida’s beleaguered unemployment benefits website, CONNECT.

Nelson said that he spoke on the phone Tuesday with Thomas Perez, the U.S. Secretary of Labor, and that the two discussed the $63 million website, which has been plagued by technical problems since its launch in October of 2013.

“The secretary of labor has assured me his key staff that handle unemployment insurance will be in Tallahassee by the end of the week,” Nelson said in a statement. “And they’ll stay there until the problems are fixed.”

Nelson has been asking Perez since October to investigate the Florida Department of Economic Development’s launch of the website, after thousands were reported to have had their claims denied because of technical problems with the site.