Representative proposes bill that would force unemployed to volunteer for compensation benefits

Unemployed Floridians may have to start working for free if they want to collect unemployment benefits, according to a Sun-Sentinel report.

Republican State Representative Kathleen Passidomo of Naples has introduced a bill that would require residents who are out of a job to volunteer at a non-profit group for at least four hours a week to be eligible for benefits.

The proposal will likely be one of the many elements in Florida’s unemployment compensation system overhaul as Governor Rick Scott and legislators find ways to cut costs.

Residents who don’t meet that requirement could be denied employment benefits, which is expected to help chip away at the state’s $2.07 billion deficit, however Passidomo has no estimate of savings from the measure.

The representative’s hope is that the volunteering could lead to a job and help get people off unemployment benefits.

"You never know. It could help you get a job. You're not going to get contacts staying home," she said

Maxine Gutman, a lawyer and former HR director challenges the expectation of expecting volunteers to also seek a job.

"It's an 8-to-10 hour process every day, day in and day out," said Gutman, 50, who accepted a new position this week after her employer closed last summer.

Deputy director for the National Employment Law Project, Andrew Stettner, said that no other state has linked unemployment compensation to community service.

Stettner believes that the unemployed shouldn't be required to perform public service, because the intention of the benefits is to act as insurance when employees are fired at no fault of their own.

"If your car was in an accident, and you have insurance, you get it fixed," Stettner said. "This is a benefit they have earned so they can seek work."