WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — For years, unemployed Floridians have struggled to receive benefits they say they were owed by the state while searching for their next job. Now, a new bill moving through the Florida Legislature could make it even harder to get those benefits, according to critics.
Senate Bill 216 recently passed its first committee and is waiting to be heard by its second. The legislation, titled the "Promoting Work, Deterring Fraud Act of 2026," aims to ensure the state isn't paying unemployment benefits to people who don't need them. However, critics say it will make it more difficult for people who genuinely need benefits to receive them.
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Daniel Escobar of Lake Worth knows firsthand how challenging the current system can be. Last spring, he spent five months following up with the Florida Department of Commerce on his re-employment benefits claim while searching for jobs before contacting WPTV for help.
"It's been about five months since I've been able to get the kind of help or support that I've needed from the state," Escobar told us last year.
Escobar has been working at his job in Broward County for almost eight months. He believes the proposed legislation would create additional barriers for people seeking assistance.
"I think would really, really hurt people's chances to be able to get themselves again, to get that benefit — to get themselves back on their feet," Escobar said.
The bill would mandate that a claimant be disqualified from receiving benefits if they fail to, without "good cause":
- Contacting at least five prospective employers per week,
- Showing up to scheduled job interviews at least three times without calling ahead or returning to work when recalled from a layoff
While the five weekly job contacts are already required, the proposed legislation would change the consequences for non-compliance. Instead of allowing claimants to re-qualify on a future claim, the bill would require, according to a legislative analysis, "disqualification for the next full period of unemployment following one of these failures until the claimant has earned income of at least 17 times their weekly benefit amount."
State Sen. Stan McClain, a Republican from Ocala, introduced the bill. He cited more job openings than unemployed people in Florida and over $32 billion in fraud attempts, largely due to "bots" over the past five years as rationale.
"I just don't see that there's any reason why we shouldn't try to make sure that all the fraud is taken care of in a situation like this," McClain said at a Jan. 21 meeting of the Appropriations Committee on
Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development amid questions from Democratic committee members.
An aide for McClain said he was unavailable to discuss the bill on Monday, but invited questions via email. Those questions remain unanswered.
The legislation would also add more levels of screening on top of several that were added in recent years.
While Escobar understands the concern about fraud, he worries that the additional requirements could slow the process for legitimate claimants.
"Yes, fraud is prevalent out there," Escobar said. "But in critical times, most people do not want to ask for handouts. So don't make it worse by making people feel like they are dirty or not great for asking for this benefit, this very critical benefit that really should be helping us move forward."
For Escobar, getting his benefits took five months, calls to lawmakers and media intervention.
Read the full text of Senate Bill 216 below:
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