JACKSONVILLE, Fla — With only 12 weeks of state unemployment benefits available, many Floridians must jump to different unemployment programs after exhausting each one.
People who were eligible for state benefits only received 12 weeks, which is the lowest in the country. At that point, they are able to apply for Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation for an additional 13 weeks.
At this point, those who started with state benefits early in the pandemic have, or will soon, also exhaust PEUC. Many Floridians are worried that is the end of benefits.
“In the last week I’ve had thousands of people reaching out to me with this question,” said Vanessa Brito, unemployment expert.
Brito’s followers are wondering what happens after they exhaust PEUC.
“People are so desperate right now,” Brito said.
According to the Department of Labor, most people are eligible to carry on with the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program. It will provide the same benefits for an additional 39 weeks.
“There is a little bit of hope for them,” Brito said.
Many Floridians have been on PUA from the beginning. The program accepted many people who were unemployed due to COVID-19 but were not eligible for state benefits. These people tended to be self-employed or gig workers.
When it’s time to apply for PUA, a button should pop up in your connect portal on the left option bar reading, “APPLY FOR PUA.” Brito said it should show up within three days of exhausting PEUC.
“By any chance it does not, you have to call DEO,” Brito said. “Wait for a supervisor to refresh your dashboard and have that link pop up.”
The application is a bit longer than the previous programs, Brito said.
Brito said there may be a hurdle for people who were unemployed and applied for benefits just before the pandemic. This is because originally they were not unemployed due to COVID-19. Brito says that claim effective date cutoff is Jan. 27, 2020.
If this is your case, Brito said it is important to be proactive before applying, or else you will be declined.
“Try to deal with DEO as you go through the application process for PUA and explain, ‘Listen, I’m in this industry, I haven’t been able to find a job because of COVID.’ That way they can override it,” Brito said.
This isn’t even a topic of conversation in most states. On average, states provide a total of 23 weeks in state benefits, compared to Florida’s 12. With those low weeks, Floridians are struggling to figure out how to jump from program to program to get by.
“We are now the laughing stock of the entire country,” Brito said.
As of Aug. 29, only about 19% of unemployment benefits are being paid out by the state. The rest are funded federally.
“We are so reliant of the federal government to keep unemployment going, that without it, Floridians would have no unemployment at all,” said state representative Anna Eskamani.