Florida / The ‘Initial Skills Review’ (SLIDESHOW)

In 2011, Gov. Rick Scott (R) signed a law slashing the duration of jobless aid and making Florida the first state to require unemployment claimants to answer a series of basic math and reading questions. Answering a certain number of questions correctly isn’t necessary to be eligible for benefits, but claimants have to get through it.

Florida has declined to make the review public, but on Wednesday the Office of Economic Development let The Huffington Post try out a demonstration version of the assessment that included questions claimants have answered on the review in the past.

“The Initial Skills Review is not a ‘test,’ or intended to create a barrier for those seeking reemployment assistance,” Florida Department of Economic Opportunity spokeswoman Jessica Sims said in an email. “The job seeker cannot pass or fail the assessment, and only has to attempt the ISR in order to be eligible for reemployment assistance.”

Even though jobseekers can’t fail the review, labor advocates said having to deal with it at all is a problem for some.

“The time it takes to complete the 45-question examination necessarily lengthens the initial claim process for the average unemployed worker to one hour and 15 minutes,” worker advocacy groups said in a formal complaint last year. “For workers who are not literate or computer-literate, navigating this process in which there is effectively no available personal assistance will take much longer.”

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor

via Florida Unemployment System’s ‘Initial Skills Review’ Laid Bare (SLIDESHOW).

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