Florida Labor Law Requiring Unemployed to Volunteer Considered

Tallahassee, FLA state lawmaker is looking to create a Florida labor law that would require those who are unemployed to volunteer in order to receive their unemployment checks, Fox News reports.

span itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject" style="display:block">Republican State Representative Kathleen Passidomo reportedly introduced the bill, which would force the unemployed to volunteer at a non-profit organization for at least four hours per week, according to the news source.

"This may be a way to energize people to find a job," Passidomo told the news provider.

According to the news source, the bill is somewhat similar to the one that Florida Governor Rick Scott proposed in a December report designed to fix the state's unemployment system. The state's unemployment rate reached 12 percent in December, which was well above the national average of 9 percent, the news provider said.

The potential unemployment legislation comes as the Orlando Sentinel reports that Florida's average weekly jobless benefit is just $232, which is the 47th lowest in the country.