WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — On Tuesday, WPTV spoke with the new man in charge of fixing the state's beleaguered unemployment claims system.
Department of Management Services Secretary Jonathan Satter took on the new role last week at the governor's request to fix the process to get out-of-work Florida workers paid as quickly as possible.
Satter, a Palm Beach County resident, said he and the governor have identified four priorities in an effort to fix the issues the state has faced the past few weeks.
1. Communicate with citizens and benefit-eligible recipients.
2. Challenge the status quo: How do we identify the process to speed things up, cutting three steps to two?
3. Regulatory: Eliminate bureaucracy and cut red tape
4. Technology: Improve the state's website
Satter responded to Tuesday's report that Florida is the slowest state in the U.S. to process unemployment claims.
"That's the reason I'm here. We know we're in last place. We're going to push our car to the front of the pack. It's going to take us a little bit of time, but the governor has given me all the resources I need, and the president has offered to give the governor all the resources we need to get Florida back on track," said Satter.
Satter said they have streamlined the connections of the unemployment website to allow more people to access and file claims.
He didn't believe the 1.5 million residents who applied for unemployment benefits was an accurate number and believes some people have applied twice.
"We're working through duplicates. I think the number is overstated," said Satter.
Satter says the system he inherited is handling three times the amount of applications per day than it was built for. In December, it processed 22,000 claims per day. Recently, up to 80,000 claims per day have been filed in Florida.
“The system wasn't designed for that. It’s 10 years old. We've asked it to drive the Daytona 500 without pit stops," said Satter.
Technology improvements to the infrastructure are underway each day to streamline the process and allow more can access from multiple angles. Satter said they are identifying bottlenecks.
“We need to add some infrastructure to that, IT structure, and we're doing that day by day,” says Satter.
More communication and transparency through the Legistature and the media will occur to show data. Satter said he and the governor are working side-by-side to cut state and federal bureaucracy.
“How do we identify these processes that have three steps and take them to two. Time is not our friend,” Satter said.
Another problem: duplicate online and paper applications. Many, he said, filed with the original system and then with the new application system. Then what if you were unemployed prior to the COVID-19 outbreak?
“We need to do a little technical reprogramming to get those checks issued, and we’re hopeful we will get those expedited very quickly,” said Satter.
The governor signed a recent executive order to eliminate the recertification of those unemployed Floridians prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, which he added will help speed up payouts for everyone. Payouts that can’t come soon enough.
“That’s the reason I’m here,” says Satter. “Tens of thousands of Floridians who are in purgatory.”
Satter wanted to reassure that he and state are working non-stop to get unemployed Florida workers their claim.
"We are working nonstop 24/7 to get them to the next stage of their claim and get their benefit paid," said Satter.