PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Florida's broken unemployment website has been taken down for the weekend, as Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Friday that he believes the $77 million system was "designed to fail."

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DeSantis noted the state's CONNECT website was built more than five years ago, before he became Governor, and that taxpayer money was not spent well. Rick Scott was Governor at the time.

"It was designed with all these different things," he said. "Basically to fail, I think." 

The unemployment website was taken offline on Friday and will be available at 8 a.m. on Monday. Department of Economic Opportunity spokesperson Tiffany Vause said the website is being updated so that it can process claims faster.

"We know that not being able to access the system may cause uncertainty," she said. "But these updates are designed to expedite the process for payment."

On the same day the unemployment website was taken down, Floridians held a virtual protest on social media. On Twitter, people shared their story using the hashtag #FLDEOVirtualProtest.

Trina Charese posted, "Broke and hungry in Florida. Gov. Ron DeSantis failed us the FL DEO failed us. My claim has been pending for 34-days... I have $27.93 in the bank."

Largo Massage Therapist Lisa Gecelosky posted, "Filed 3/20, still pending. Money is running low due to personal and business expenses. I need this help. Please do more to fix this broken system."

Ira Leighton, assistant manager at Salon Volo in Kenneth City, has been out of work since the salon shut its doors on March 21.

“We were given specific information that while we were closed, that our availability was going to go on to be available for unemployment benefits through the state of Florida,” he said.

He applied on March 22. Yet, more than a month later, his claim has yet to go anywhere.

“Extremely challenging, with constant error messages, being dumped, being able to get certain information in, and then having the server sort of crash,” he said.

The website snafu is also holding up the federal money he’s entitled to from the CARES Act. That’s an extra $600 a week that remains out of reach.

“I’m fortunate in that I’ve tried to save and buffer for potential situations like this in my life, but I have a lot of my coworkers that are younger and have new families, new homes. And they have less resources to draw on,” Leighton said.

And he has this message for state leaders:  “It’s critically important that you have to pay attention to the people that have lost their jobs. Our incomes have evaporated and I’m an hourly wage earner. My income is gone. I can’t pay my bills.”

The number of Floridians who have filed for unemployment since the pandemic outbreak has reached 1.16 million, with only 6.5 percent of the claims paid.

DeSantis said the DEO has made 200,000 payments totaling almost $100 million.