When Will Your Unemployment Claim Be Processed How Many Weeks Can You Receive Benefit Payments
After your claim is filed and accepted, the state of Florida requires that you go through a waiting week during which no benefits will be paid to you. Overall, it will take about three to four weeks for you to receive your first payment. You can receive benefits for anywhere between 12 and 23 weeks depending on Floridas current unemployment rate.
Benefits will vary for each claimant and will be based on earnings from your base period. Your base period is based on the first four completed quarters within the past 18 months.
Florida Unemployment Claim Schedule
| If your claim begins between these dates: | Your base period will be: |
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More on Florida Unemployment Claim Weeks
Currently, the state of Florida pays unemployment benefits by dividing your wages in your highest base period quarter by 26, and the maximum benefit anyone can earn is $275 per week.
To calculate the amount of your benefit, you can use this helpful Florida Unemployment Calculator.
| Last 4 digits of SSN | Day of the Week |
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Thursday |
Filing For Unemployment Benefits
The first step in filing for unemployment is contacting your states unemployment office. In the state of Florida, you can file online by visiting, www.floridajobs.org.
Filing online offers you the convenience of:
- Filing for benefits weekly or biweekly
- Check the status of your claim
- Check the remaining balance of your benefits
Online filing also offers detailed information regarding the filing process, what to expect and whom to contact if you should have any questions.
You also have the option of accepting your benefits via check, debit card or direct deposit.
Keep in mind some states require that you continue to seek employment throughout the benefits process. Florida offers work search assistance online to make it easier to get back to work.
How Will I Receive My Payments
You wont receive any money during the first week that youre eligible for Reemployment Assistance. This is known as the waiting week, which runs from Sunday to Saturday. So if you apply on a Wednesday, for example, youll have to wait a week and a half for benefits to start unless the state waives the waiting period.
Take note that these benefits arent paid out automatically. If your application is approved, youll need to log into CONNECT and manually request your benefits using the Request Benefit Payment option. This will take you through a brief survey to verify that youre able to meet ongoing requirements. After that, youll need to log in again every two weeks to complete the survey and request a benefits payment.
You have only two options for how to receive your money. The first option is to have it directly deposited into your bank account. But the state doesnt accept all banks, so if thats not an option or if youd rather opt for something else, your second option is to receive your payments on a prepaid Way2Go debit card. But be careful with this this option because there are fees for using the card, although the website doesnt specify what these are. Make sure you read the fine print if, for example, you want to use your debit card to make an ATM withdrawal.
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Start The Unemployment Process
Finding yourself suddenly unemployed and not knowing where youre next paycheck is coming from or how you are going to put food on the table can be overwhelming and stressful.
Unemployment benefits were designed to help you get back on your feet and give you some peace of mind.
So, utilize them. Contact your states Unemployment Office to get the process started today.
If youve been wrongfully terminated, contact . Weve got the expertise to fight for your rights and seek the damages you deserve.
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Types Of Disability Policies
There are two types of disability policies.
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Short-term policies may pay for up to two years. Most last for a few months to a year.
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Long-term policies may pay benefits for a few years or until the disability ends.
Employers who offer coverage may provide short-term coverage, long-term coverage, or both.
If you plan to buy your own policy, shop around and ask:
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How is disability defined?
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How long do benefits last?
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How much money will the policy pay?
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Do You Have Questions
Please visit DEOs Frequently Asked Questions page. You may be able to quickly find the answer to your question or find information that you need online.
Contact DEO Directly at 1-833-FL-APPLY .
Agency Assist People who need assistance filing a claim online because of legal reasons, computer illiteracy, language barriers, or disabilities may call 1-833-FL-APPLY.
RA Fraud Hotline Reemployment Assistance Fraud is a third-degree felony and can result in jail time. Report RA fraud online or you may also report fraud by calling 1-833-FL-APPLY .
Employer Contact Line For assistance related to an employers CONNECT account, responding to requests for information, and chargeability issues call 1-833-FL-APPLY .
Identity Verification Process
DEO partnered with ID.me to help keep Floridians identities secure from fraudulent activity and bolster current fraud prevention measures. Any new claimant filing for Reemployment Assistance will need to verify their identity through ID.me. For more information about ID.me visit the claimant resource page.
Helpful Resources
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Applying For Unemployment Benefits In Florida
There are several ways a jobless worker can apply for UI benefits in Florida.
An unemployed person may complete an application online at FloridaJobs.org, which is the fastest and easiest way to submit your initial claim. Unemployment claimants may also complete a paper application by following the steps online at FloridaJobs.org and by mailing your application to the following address:
Florida Department of Economic OpportunityP.O. Box 5350Tallahassee, FL 32314-5350
If needed, CareerSource centers throughout the state can offer assistance with paper applications. If you need assistance completing your online application, please contact Floridas Department of Economic Opportunity at 833-FL-APPLY, and a customer service representative can help you.
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What Are The Tax Implications Of Unemployment
Your unemployment insurance is considered taxable income, so you must report it on your federal tax return in the income section.
Taxes are not taken out of unemployment benefits, but when filing your federal and state taxes the following year, you must report the money you received. The IRS will send you Form 1099-G, which includes the taxable unemployment benefits you received in the previous tax year.
One benefit, however, is not having to pay payroll taxes like Social Security and Medicare on these payments, said Riley Adams, a certified public accountant and owner ofYoung and the Invested, a personal finance website. Should you so choose, you may also elect to have taxes withheld from your unemployment benefits when filing for unemployment insurance.
How To File An Initial Claim In The State Of Florida
Florida is one of the few states in the country to have low unemployment rates, hovering around the national average. The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity administers the Reemployment Assistance Program which provides unemployment insurance benefits for up to 19 weeks for jobless workers who have been out of job due to no fault of their own. The approved monetary benefits should be claimed online on a weekly basis by the claimant.
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How To Get Cobra
Group health plans must give covered employees and their families a notice explaining their COBRA rights. Plans must have rules for how COBRA coverage is offered, how beneficiaries may choose to get it and when they can stop coverage. For more COBRA information, see COBRA Premium Subsidy. The page links to information about COBRA including:
Floridians: Use This Website To File Unemployment Claims
TALLAHASSEE Any Floridian who hasnt been able to successfully apply for unemployment benefits yet should now use this new website to sign up: www.floridajobs.org/raapplication.
The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, which operates the states broken unemployment system, announced the new website on Wednesday night.
Unlike the old site, the new site is mobile-friendly, allowing people to apply on their phone or tablet. While early reviews show that applicants have not been met with the error messages and other glitches plaguing the old site, the new site went down within a few hours of its launch.
Its official confirms that new website is basically a glorified Google Form & your info needs to be then migrated by state employees into CONNECT.PLZ RT bcuz we dont want ppl to think their application is complete. There are still more steps left!
Rep. Anna V. Eskamani
The new site is essentially a mobile-friendly electronic form and not a substitute for the old site. State workers are taking the electronic forms and entering them into the old site. Applicants will still have to use the old site to modify their application, however.
The state on Wednesday also rolled out a mobile-friendly version of its coronavirus financial aid page, which has links to frequently asked questions and the paper applications for individuals and businesses. The new mobile-friendly site is www.floridajobs.org/COVID-19.
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Learn About Unemployment Benefits Extensions In Florida
Florida Unemployment Extensions Information
If you would like to know how to get an unemployment extension in Florida, you must first familiarize yourself with the eligibility requirements. Note that oftentimes unemployment compensation extension is not readily available, since unemployment extension is mostly offered in times of high unemployment. It is up to each state to decide whether to launch special emergency programs that can help prolong the time period for reemployment assistance. Nonetheless, unemployed benefits should continue to actively look for a new job and be immediately available when a position opens. Because both regular unemployment benefits and unemployment benefits extensions are available for a limited amount of time, residents should not solely rely on these sources as a means to provide for their families.
Therefore, if you are wondering, how can I extend unemployment benefits in Florida?, explore the sections outlined below:
- How to apply for unemployment benefits extension in Florida
- Unemployment extension programs in Florida
Florida Unemployment Resources
Find Out How to Appeal Denied Benefits
What Is An Offer Of Suitable Employment And How Is It Connected To Unemployment Insurance Eligibility
Most state unemployment insurance laws include language defining suitable employment. Typically, suitable employment is connected to the previous jobs wage level, type of work, and the claimants skills.
Refusing an offer of suitable employment without good cause will often disqualify individuals from continued eligibility for unemployment compensation.
For example, if an individuals former employer calls the individual back to work after having temporarily laid the individual off for reasons related to COVID-19, the individual would very likely have to accept the offer to return to work, or jeopardize his or her eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits, absent some extenuating circumstance, such as if the individual tested positive for COVID-19. The job an individual held before the spread of COVID-19 will constitute, in the vast majority of cases, suitable employment for purposes of unemployment insurance eligibility.
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What Is Considered A Valid Work Search
Florida Department of Economic Opportunity said people are required to give good faith in their search for new work, although they are not bound to strictly apply for jobs that they think theyâre qualified for.
However, the longer a person is out of work, the more pressure theyâll face in accepting a new job.
âDuring the first 60 days a claimant collects Reemployment Assistance benefits, work will not be considered suitable if: it pays less than 90% of the claimants average weekly wage during the base period or it would require a material change in occupation for the claimant,â a spokesperson for Florida DEO told Spectrum News.
Those standards, however, change over time.
âAs the length of unemployment increases, offered work that may not have been suitable within the first few weeks of the claim may be considered suitable as prospects for desired work diminish,â DEO said. âAfter an individual has received 25 weeks or more of Reemployment Assistance benefits in a single year, suitable work is a job that pays the minimum wage and is 120% or more of the weekly benefit amount the individual is drawing. The Department will take into consideration any circumstances that compromise a claimantâs health and safety.â
Turning down a job offer could put a claimant at risk of losing benefits.
Florida Department of Economic Opportunity is making it easier for employers to report to the state people who have turned down job offers.
Breaking News Alerts Newsletter
Even DeSantis called the system a jalopy and a clunker that was designed to basically fail.
Besides summoning Satter to take over the unemployment portion of the DEO, he transferred hundreds of state workers from other agencies and hired a private company to help handle the claims.
After learning of his criticism of the system, Mattox said she intends to drop DeSantis as a defendant in the lawsuit. She wants to use his statements to support her case.
Although the DEO says it has paid nearly $600 million in benefits to roughly 420,000 unemployed workers since March 15, time is running out for many of the unemployed whose bank accounts have dwindled while they tried to file their claims.
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Managing Your Unemployment Benefits
You will need to request UI benefits every two weeks while you receive unemployment compensation. No benefit payment can be made until you certify with the state of Florida that you remain eligible to receive UI benefits.
You are also required to register for work with the Employ Florida Marketplace. Please note that, as a recipient of UI benefits in Florida, you are required to make contact with five prospective employers each week and to keep a record of your efforts.
Each week, when you log into your CONNECT account, you must answer a series of questions about your job-search activities, your income earned during the previous week and any employment offers you received. Your answers help the state of Florida confirm and document that you remain eligible for unemployment assistance.
Who Is Eligible For Florida Unemployment Benefits
There are FOUR criteria that you must meet to be eligible for unemployment benefits in Florida:
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A Guide To Unemployment Benefits In Florida
The state of Florida administers unemployment benefits for citizens administered by the Reemployment Assistance Program through the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.
The Reemployment Assistance Program provides temporary and partial wage replacement for qualified workers who have become unemployed through no fault of their own. It also helps stabilize Floridas economy for employers who depend on consumer spending. It is funded by employers through payroll taxes and is provided at no cost to workers who receive benefits.
Newly unemployed?
Several online serviceslike FlexJobs, 360training, or MyPerfectResumecan help you find work-from-home jobs, build a better resume, or earn training certifications.
Florida Department Of Economic Opportunity
P.O. Box 5350
Tallahassee, FL 32314-5350
Before you begin your application, its advisable to gather together the information and documents youll be asked to provide. As per the DEO guidelines, this includes:
- Your Social Security number.
- Your drivers license or state ID number.
- Your employment history to cover the past 18 months. This should include the name, address, and phone number of each employer your first and last working day with each employer gross earnings during each period of employment the reason for leaving each employer.
- FEIN .
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Apply For Florida Unemployment Benefits
There are multiple ways to submit an application for Reemployment Assistance.
1. New applicants can complete an application online at FloridaJobs.org.2. You may complete a paper application by following the steps online at FloridaJobs.org and by mailing your application to:
Florida Department of Economic OpportunityP.O. Box 5350
3. CareerSource centers throughout the state can offer assistance with paper applications.
Please visit CareerSourceFlorida.com to find the location and contact information for your local career center.
If you have questions or need assistance completing your application online, you can contact DEO at 1-833-FL-APPLY for assistance.
The video below, from the Florida DEO provides a great summary of how to apply for Florida Unemployment benefits online.
We highly recommend you watch the video if you plan to apply for benefits online.
