TAMPA — Getting access to an unemployment form just got a little easier for some Hillsborough residents.
Hillsborough County announced Monday it had opened drive-thru services at two libraries to distribute unemployment forms to people without access to a printer.
The forms can be picked up at the Jan Kaminis Platt Regional Library, 3910 S Manhattan Ave., and the Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library, 2902 W Bearss Ave., and can be used to apply for unemployment assistance.
Residents also can drop off the completed forms at either drive-thru, and library staff will mail the documents for them. Operating hours are 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The libraries are otherwise closed to the public.
The county’s assistance comes after the meltdown of the state’s unemployment website. Since mid-March, the unemployment website — the primary way to file a claim — has been broken by the workload. The state’s call center is supposed to be the backup to the website, but it too has had problems. Over the past few weeks, the state signed contracts with three companies, at a cost of up to $110 million, to fix the overburdened system.
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