btw whatever u do DONT badmouth your employer on social media!!! DEO sometimes asks for access to your social profiles during investigations and they can use that against u to say u were trying to get fired on purpose!!

Just wanted to add - since you're in the restaurant industry, make sure to keep track of any tips that weren't properly reported by your employer. DEO looks at ALL wages including tips when calculating your benefit amount. Also, if your manager is creating a hostile work environment, that could potentially qualify as "good cause" for quitting, but you'll need solid documentation. Florida is tough on this - they want to see a pattern of behavior, not just one bad day. Screenshots of schedule changes, witness statements from coworkers, and keeping a daily log of incidents will be your best bet. The fact that you tried talking to your manager twice and got negative responses actually works in your favor - shows you made reasonable efforts to resolve the situation before taking action.

This might sound weird, but have you tried reaching out on Twitter? Sometimes public callouts get their attention.

I'm so sorry you're going through this! 4 months is absolutely ridiculous. I went through something similar last year and what helped me was creating a detailed log of every interaction - dates, times, who I spoke with, reference numbers, etc. Also, if you haven't already, try filing a complaint with the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity's ombudsman office. They're supposed to help resolve these kinds of issues. Sometimes having an official complaint on file can help push things along. Don't give up - you deserve to get your benefits!

Oof, changing anything with unemployment is such a pain. I feel for you, OP. Just remember to breathe and try not to lose your cool when dealing with them. It's frustrating but getting angry usually just makes things worse. You got this! 💪

Hey Evelyn! I went through this exact same thing about 6 months ago. Here's what worked for me: I called first thing in the morning (like 8 AM sharp) when they opened - way shorter wait times. Had all my paperwork ready including my termination letter and the reason I needed to change the date. The rep was actually super helpful once I got through. One thing I wish I'd known - if your original claim date was too early and you need to move it later, that's usually easier than trying to move it earlier (which can get tricky with overpayment issues). Also, definitely ask them to email you a confirmation of the change. Saved my butt when there was confusion later. The whole process took about 10 days for me to see the change reflected in my account. Just stay patient and persistent. You've got this! 🤞

I double-checked and all my bank info is correct in the system. Plus I've received payments before to the same account without issues. Thanks for the suggestion though!

For anyone still experiencing this issue, I recommend checking your CONNECT account under "Payment History" and look for the exact timestamp of when it shows "Processed and Paid." If it's showing a Friday timestamp but you're still missing the deposit, it's likely caught in the system-wide delay that Caleb mentioned. I went through this same situation two weeks ago and my payment took 4 business days to actually hit my account even though CONNECT showed it as deposited immediately. The frustrating part is that the system shows "deposited" when it really means "approved for deposit" - there's still processing time on the backend. Hang in there, the money should come through within the 3-5 day window they mentioned in the system alert.

Update: The DEO just added a banner on their website acknowledging the 403 errors with the Reemployment Help Center links in their emails. They're saying it should be resolved within 48 hours and that claims won't be negatively affected during this time. Work searches already submitted through CONNECT are still being properly recorded in their system.

I'm dealing with the exact same issue right now! Got that 403 error when trying to access the link in the email they sent me yesterday. It's so stressful not knowing if my work searches from last week actually went through or if I need to do them again. Reading through all these responses is really helpful though - sounds like it's definitely a system issue on their end and not something we did wrong. I'm going to try the incognito browser suggestion first, and if that doesn't work I'll call them early tomorrow morning. Really hoping this gets resolved soon because constantly worrying about whether my benefits will be delayed is exhausting!