FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 23, 2020

DELRAY BEACH, FL – The Department of Labor announced today that another 4.4 million unemployment claims have been filed, with more than 26 million claims since the coronavirus pandemic began. As of today, there are at least 571,894 Floridians waiting for their unemployment benefits to be received – and those are the residents who were even able to submit a claim on the botched website created under Rick Scott’s administration.

A Human Rights Campaign Foundation study found that 5 million LGBTQ Americans work in jobs affected by the COVID-19 crisis: restaurant and food services, hospital, education and retail industries, which are all major portions of Florida’s economy.

Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus President Stephen Gaskill issued the following statement in response to the latest unemployment figures:

“Floridians are hurting, and the suffering grows with each passing day that the unemployment system isn’t fixed. Governor DeSantis and the Republican-controlled state legislature are lagging on taking immediate and drastic action that provides relief to struggling workers, many of whom are LGBTQ Floridians. This crisis calls for competence, leadership, and empathy. Let’s hope that DeSantis and his Republican allies can live up to that basic standard of public service.”

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The Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus, represents lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Floridians to the Florida Democratic Party (FDP). The Caucus has 21 chapters across Florida, from Pensacola to Jacksonville to Miami.