Florida taxpayers could be on the hook for nearly $2 billion in legal claims according to a whistleblower who says the Department of Economic Opportunity wrongly reported 19,000 Floridians to collections agencies.
Gov. Rick Scott’s administration called the claims “meritless,” but a jury this spring concluded that the state fired veteran worker Dianne Parcell in retaliation for raising questions about nearly 100 cases where DEO had improperly reported overpayments to Floridians receiving unemployment benefits. The state later settled with Parcell for $250,000.
