The number of Floridians whose unemployment claims are getting held up has dramatically increased since the state installed a new system.
Department of Economic Opportunity executive director Jesse Panuccio told state legislators Wednesday that there has been a 25 percent jump in disputed claims.
The state switched to the $63 million system in October. Since then, there have been continued complaints about unemployed Floridians frustrated at their ability to get their unemployment checks.
The state has withheld a $3 million payment to the company that built the website. State officials say they will continue to assess daily fines against Deloitte Consulting until the system is ``fully functional.''
Federal officials from the U.S. Department of Labor are heading to the state to try to help fix the troubled website.