JACKSONVILLE, Fla — New year, same problems for many who are unemployed.
Floridians are working to get themselves out of the unemployment maze; however, they keep getting stuck on a few of the same issues.
Community activist Vanessa Brito has been helping thousands of people get back on their feet since 2020.
"It’s a shame that after two years we are kind of in the same place and that people I think are even more desperate now," Brito said. "Because when we started, folks hadn’t lost anything. They lost their jobs, you know, but they hadn’t lost their homes or had their cars repossessed, and their credit was still intact."
She says there are three things happening right now with the state's unemployment system that are impacting hundreds, if not thousands of people.
- Overpayment issues. The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity says they overpaid some Floridians. If you don’t pay it back, you’ll be sent to collections later this year.
- Brito says most of the overpayments she’s worked on can be appealed because people have proof that they weren’t actually overpaid. However, she says the appeals process is taking a long time, and they are stuck in limbo.
- Brito is trying to get an unemployment reform bill in front of Florida's legislature by the time the session starts on Jan. 11.
She says Florida senator filed it last session. It didn’t pass, and another senator has refiled it. Brito is working with an organization to gain bipartisan support for the bill, which would increase benefits paid out for people on unemployment from $275 a week to $375 and increase the number of weeks for unemployment benefits to meet the national average up to 24 weeks from the current number of just 12.
“It’s a significant change for folks who need and have been on unemployment and have seen just how terrible and meager the WBA is and how the 12 weeks really doesn’t get anybody anywhere when it comes to finding adequate work," Brito explained.
If you haven’t signed into your CONNECT account because you are now employed, you do need to get your ID.ME set up anyways. That’s the multi-factor authentication that was put in place last year.
You’ll have to log into this to get your necessary tax forms for 2021.
On Monday, Jan. 3, the Reemployment Assistance Customer Service Center is back open after the extended holiday weekend. That line opens at 8 a.m. Call 1-833-FL-APPLY.