JACKSONVILLE, Fla – State attorneys and public defenders across Florida are pushing for a pay raise as both offices battle high turnover rates and struggle to hire new employees.
Florida’s legislative session was scheduled to end Friday, but a number of last-minute changes have sent the session into overtime.
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Prosecutors and public defenders hope to beat the buzzer and work a pay raise into the budget. They’re hoping for at least $10,000 more a year to make working in Florida more attractive.
Roughly 33 million Americans have quit their jobs since spring 2021, in what some have dubbed the “Great Resignation.”
Charlie Cofer is a public defender for the fourth judicial circuit who lost a good chunk of his staff and never fully recovered.
“In the last year, my office has lost 25% of its lawyers’ staff,” Cofer said.
This isn’t unique to just the Public Defender’s office. State Attorney R.J. Larizza, from the seventh judicial circuit, is dealing with the same issues.
“In our circuit, we’re about 17 prosecutors down right now,” Larizza said. ″ We can advertise on some of these paid platforms and get zero applicants.”
Both offices are joining attorneys across Florida to call for $10,000 pay increases. Attorneys are asking state lawmakers in Tallahassee to include this new funding in the upcoming budget.
“We’re just asking for the increases that will allow people to come and do this work,” Cofer said. “I’ve got one attorney right now who has over $300,000 in student loan debt.”
“We need help, or our criminal justice system is going to suffer and then that means that society as a whole will suffer,” Larizza said.
The average starting salary for public defenders in the U.S. is $69,000 and in Florida, it’s $50,000.
The state House has agreed on a 5% pay hike, leaving it up to the Senate.
A vote on the state’s budget won’t happen until Monday, March 14, at the earliest.
