CLICK HERE FOR NEW INFORMATION (4/18/2020) ON FLORIDA’S UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS.

Hello!

This is Rep. Anna V. Eskamani and we thank you for trusting us to help you with your unemployment insurance application.

We have been in constant contact with the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) and have been sharing your issues with them with the goal of DEO calling you one-on-one to provide support.

This email includes some of the newest updates we have to share. I also encourage you to watch this Facebook Live video with News 13’s Greg Angel. He reviews FAQs for you in a clear and concise way.

If you were able to get in touch with the FL DEO or have an update on your application/benefits please let Lauren know by emailing lauren.cooper@myfloridahouse.gov.

Click here if you missed last week’s DEO Update.

Here are the latest updates —

$600 CHECKS?: On Tuesday Governor Ron DeSantis said that $600 checks are being mailed to Floridians. This is correct, but only some Floridians are getting that $600 check right now. That’s because Florida has not yet fully implemented the CARES Act.

There are three groups of people who are waiting for the CARES Act:

Floridians who already qualify for $275 a week from Florida (or some level of state UI support), and are waiting for the additional $600 a week via the CARES Act. Floridians who are self-employed and/or gig economy workers who are not yet qualified to receive any benefits in Florida and will benefit from $600 a week via the federal government Floridians who have expired all of their Florida weeks and are waiting to access the additional 13 weeks at $600 provided by the federal government.

Right now, Florida is mailing checks out to Group #1 because they have yet to implement a system where Group #2 and Group #3 can access federal funds. Of course this also means that in order to get that $600 weekly check, you also have to be able to login into CONNECT to claim your hours which STILL continues to a major issue for many people.

IMPLEMENTATION OF CARES ACT: This the same statement we sent to you from DEO on 4/8/2020 but we wanted to send it again in case you missed it the first time — DEO is currently working with the federal government to fully implement the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act. The CARES Act, signed into law on March 27, 2020, expands Reemployment Assistance benefits. DEO is working diligently to incorporate the new provisions of the CARES Act to ensure all Floridians who are eligible get their full amount of benefits. DEO will issue additional information about Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Assistance as it becomes available.

INELIGIBLE CLAIMS: We are now hearing of people who got into CONNECT but are being told that they are ineligible for benefits. For many of you, it’s because you are self-employed/1099 and Florida has NOT implemented this part of the CARES Act yet. We are being told by DEO that these individuals would be able to appeal their claim but to also wait for Florida to implement that part of the CARES Act because there may be a different portal for you to use.

WAVING OF WORK REGISTRATION AND SEARCH REQUIREMENTS: Though the state has waived both work registration and search requirements for the weeks of March 15, 2020 to May 2, 2020 we are still hearing that folks are being asked to fill this information out. Below is a screenshot from the FAQ page on DEO’s website, along with a statement from DEO provided to us on 4/12/2020:

The work registration and search requirements have been waived for individuals requesting benefits for the weeks of March 15, 2020 to May 2, 2020 due to COVID-19. You do not need to complete the registration and you may put “not applicable” or “not able to search for work.” If you answered that you did not search for work, you will not be asked to complete a work search log. If you completed your application prior to March 15, 2020, you must complete the online work registration.

We are still working to confirm what people should do if they were unemployed before March 15th.

RETROACTIVITY OF BENEFITS: We have also heard questions about the ability to receive benefits from the day you were unemployed versus the day your application is approved. Governor Ron DenSantis recently said he would “look into” this idea. FAQ from the federal relief plan also speaks on retroactivity being possible from the day the CARES Act passed. We are actively advocating for this change, and will continue to keep you posted and share updates on social media. As of today, nothing on this topic has changed.

VERIFYING IDENTITY?: We’ve heard some questions about identity verification. This information is from DEO’s most recent PDF FAQ that we also wanted to lift up, just for reference — You can submit documents verifying your identity to the department. Please provide a signed copy of your Social Security card and a copy of your valid driver’s license or state ID. These can be sent by fax or email to, Fax: 321–332–6608 or E-mail: IdentityRequest@deo.myflorida.com

PENDING PURGATORY: We have heard of many people in CONNECT who are “processing” or “pending” as they wait for their benefits to be approved. At this point DEO has asked us to express patience as they are incredibly behind in processing claims.

EXPIRED CLAIM: Once you get into CONNECT you still have to file your earnings every two weeks to prove that you were not working. Because the website still crashes, people cannot get into CONNECT easily and are seeing their claims approach DEO’s expiration day. DEO has encouraged people to keep trying BUT I did ask DEO about this and they said if your claim does expire it will be their fault and they’ll try to find a way around it. Either way, you should keep trying and let us know how we can help. We are encouraging the state to waive this requirement and allow people to automatically be approved each week.

FURLOUGHED DISNEY WORKERS: DEO and Walt Disney Company are in discussions to see if the soon-to-be furloughed Disney workers can be added to the list of DEO claims without adding more traffic to the website by getting a list of Disney workers and manually inputting them into CONNECT on the back-side, versus approximately 70,000 Disney Workers overwhelming the system. Nothing has been confirmed here but we’ll share more as we learn more.

CHANGE OF LEADERSHIP: Yesterday Governor Ron DeSantis sidelined FL DEO Director Ken Lawson and put into place Jon Satter of Florida DMS to manage the Unemployment Insurance process instead.

STIMULUS CHECKS: The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has started to directly deposit the economic impact payment — otherwise known as the stimulus check — into Americans’ accounts. Click here to setup a direct deposit payment with the IRS. Click here to learn more and click here to help prevent fraud.

REP. ANNA V. ESKAMANI VIRTUAL OFFICE HOURS: Join me once a week to answer any constituent questions or concerns about the COVID-19 response taking place in our community and state, and get all the current information about available resources! These Weekly Virtual Town Halls will take place via Facebook Live (Facebook.com/AnnaForFlorida) and Instagram Live (@AnnaForFlorida) every Friday at 6:00pm for up to one hour. Click here to learn more and submit questions.

In case you need, here is information for renters when it comes to the current state of evictions too.

That’s all we have for now. Stay strong, and stay safe.

Representative Anna V. Eskamani

***9:00PM UPDATE****

On April 17th an Executive Order was announced to eliminate the requirement for people to apply for benefits w/FL DEO every two weeks. Folks are now seeing messages like this on their screens:

We have asked DEO if the Executive Order also applies to those who have been unable to file any of their weeks because of how bad the website is. Will these folks automatically receive payment? Will there be retroactivity? We’ll keep you posted as we learn more.