Florida Unemployment
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Can't reach Florida Unemployment? Claimyr calls for you, so you don't have to wait on hold.
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- DO post tips & tricks to help folks.
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DEO flagged my account for fraud at 62 - can't claim weeks for 3+ weeks
I'm at my wit's end dealing with this Florida unemployment nightmare. My CONNECT account was suddenly flagged for fraud three weeks ago, and now I can't claim any weeks. I've NEVER been unemployed before in my entire 62 years, and now when I finally need help, the system treats me like I'm trying to scam them! I've called that DEO number probably 50+ times and it either disconnects me or I'm stuck on hold until the office closes. I've sent emails through the contact portal that just disappear into the void. How am I supposed to resolve a fraud flag if no actual human will talk to me? My savings are almost gone and my rent is due next week. Has anyone else had their account wrongly flagged? Did you ever get through to an actual person? What did you do???
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DEO never assigned adjudicator despite 'pending adjudication' status for 2 months
I'm about to lose my mind with DEO. After 2 MONTHS of my claim showing 'pending adjudication' on CONNECT, I finally got desperate enough to contact the governor's office last week. Got a call back today from someone at DEO, and guess what? They told me an adjudicator was NEVER EVEN ASSIGNED to my case! Are you kidding me?? How can it be in 'adjudication pending' status if no one is actually reviewing it? The woman on the phone just calmly told me they would now assign it to an adjudicator but couldn't give me ANY timeframe for when it might be resolved. Meanwhile I'm 2 months behind on rent and my car payment is overdue. Is this even legal? How can they just leave claims sitting in limbo without assigning them to anyone? Has anyone else discovered their claim was basically just sitting in a digital pile being ignored? What did you do to finally get it resolved? I'm desperate here.
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hey at least u got someone on the phone! i been trying for 3 weeks just to talk to anyone at deo lol. my claim has been pending for 6 weeks now
That's the crazy part - I only got a call back because I contacted the governor's office. Regular DEO phone lines are almost impossible to get through. Have you tried reaching out to your state rep yet? Sounds like that's helping a lot of people.
Just wanted to follow up - did you get anywhere with this? Did contacting your state representative help? I'm curious because I'm helping my brother who's now in a similar situation (7 weeks in adjudication with no movement).
Yes! My state rep's office was amazing. They have a staff person who handles DEO cases specifically. I emailed them Tuesday with all my claim info, they contacted DEO Wednesday, and by Friday my claim was assigned to an adjudicator. It was approved Monday and I got my first payment (including all back weeks) on Wednesday. So it took exactly 8 days from contacting my rep to getting paid after sitting for 2+ months with DEO doing nothing. Definitely tell your brother to contact his state representative!
DEO benefit year end date December 26 - will payments stop completely?
I just logged into my CONNECT account and noticed something concerning. They added about $13,500 to my Regular Unemployment claim (filed in September), but the benefit year ending date shows December 26, 2025. Does this mean I won't receive any payments after December 26th even if I have a balance remaining? I'm still unemployed and really counting on these benefits to get through the holidays and new year. Has anyone dealt with benefit year end dates before? Do they automatically extend if you have remaining balance or am I going to have to file a whole new claim?
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I just went through this process last month. Here's exactly what you need to do: 1) Keep claiming weeks as normal until your benefit year end date, 2) On the day after your benefit year ends, log into CONNECT and there should be a link to file a new claim application, 3) Complete the application honestly including all work history since your original claim, 4) After submission, it will likely go into "pending" status for 1-3 weeks, 5) You may get a fact-finding questionnaire to complete, and 6) Eventually you'll get a determination letter. The process took 18 days for me from application to first payment on my new claim. It's stressful but if you plan ahead financially for that gap period, you'll be okay. And like others said, getting through to DEO before your end date is extremely helpful - they can flag your account for expedited review sometimes.
Thank you SO much for breaking it down like this! This is super helpful. I'll start putting a bit aside from each payment to prepare for the gap period. Do you know if they'll back-pay for the weeks during that processing time?
Yes, they should back-pay you for any eligible weeks during the processing time, as long as you claim them properly. After you submit your new application, you should still be able to claim weeks through CONNECT. Those weeks will stay in pending status until your new claim is approved, then they'll all pay out at once. Just make sure you're diligent about claiming each week on time and documenting your work searches, as they might review those more carefully for the weeks between claims.
That's a relief! I'll make sure to keep up with my weekly claims and document everything thoroughly. Thanks again for all the help everyone - feeling much more prepared now!
Finally got my DEO benefits after 5 months and a TV news interview!
Just had to share this crazy journey with my DEO claim! After FIVE MONTHS of getting nowhere with regular channels, I ended up interviewing with Fox 35 Orlando yesterday about my unemployment situation. The reporter told me she also interviewed the politicians I had contacted trying to get my benefits released. The wild thing is - I checked CONNECT this morning and it finally shows they released the money! Nothing in my bank account yet, but hoping it posts tomorrow. It's absolutely ridiculous that it took getting a news station involved to make DEO do their job. Anyone else have to go to extreme measures to get their rightful benefits? Also, anyone know how long it typically takes for the money to hit your account after CONNECT shows it's been released?
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Has anyone else noticed that DEO seems to fast-track claims when they get negative publicity? My coworkers claim sat for months until his wife posted about it on Twitter and tagged a bunch of FL politicians. Magically approved 2 days later. The system is so broken.
This is definitely a pattern. While DEO won't officially acknowledge it, claims that receive attention from elected officials or media do tend to be resolved more quickly. The real issue is the severe understaffing at DEO combined with an outdated CONNECT system that's prone to flagging legitimate claims for unnecessary review. If you're stuck, contact your state representative AND continue claiming weeks while keeping detailed records of all employment separations and work search activities.
I'm a little confused about something... does being on the news affect how quickly they review your claim? My adjudication has been pending for 7 weeks now and I'm getting desperate. I've been doing the work search requirements faithfully every week. Should I be contacting the news too? Or maybe my state senator? I'm not sure how any of this works and the DEO website is so confusing!!!
In my experience, yes - public pressure definitely helped. Here's what I'd recommend in this order: 1) Try calling DEO daily (I know it's nearly impossible to get through) 2) Email your state representative AND senator (Google "who is my Florida state representative") 3) If those don't work after a week or two, then consider contacting local news. The squeaky wheel gets the grease with DEO. Just be prepared to share your story publicly if you go the news route!
Reapplied for DEO benefits in new quarter but only got 1 week - will I still get $600 federal supplement?
So I had to reapply for unemployment for the new benefit quarter since my original claim expired. I just got approved but only for 1 week of state benefits because I started working part-time right after that. I'm confused about 2 things: First, will I still get the $600 federal supplement for that one week even though I'm working now? Second, I'm pretty sure DEO still owes me one week of the $600 federal supplement from my previous claim that I never received. Anyone know how to get that missing payment? The CONNECT system is so frustrating to navigate!
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Update: I finally got through to DEO this morning! The agent confirmed I'll get the $600 for my one week on the new claim, and they found my missing payment from the last quarter. Apparently it was held up because I had answered a work search question incorrectly (even though work search was waived at that time, go figure). They're releasing both payments now. Thanks everyone for your help! Special thanks to whoever recommended Claimyr - totally worth it to avoid the busy signals and disconnects.
That's great news! Glad you got it sorted out. Did they give you any timeframe for when you'll actually receive the payments? In my experience, once they release a held payment it still takes 3-5 business days to hit your account.
My sister got into the same situation but they never paid her the back $600. Something about the date she returned to work messing up the system. Took her doing a formal appeal!!! What a nightmare this whole system is. Glad you got yours fixed though.
Oh no, I hope she eventually got her money! The agent told me to expect the payments within 48 hours, so fingers crossed. The whole process is so confusing.
Nathaniel Mikhaylov
I tried that Claimyr service the other person mentioned when my benefits got stuck in adjudication. It actually did work - got me through to someone at DEO when I'd been trying for weeks. The DEO rep told me they're getting hammered with fraudulent claims right now because of some data breach (not DEO's fault). They're extra cautious with new claims from people who haven't claimed before, especially if you're over 55 since scammers often target seniors' identities.
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Melody Miles
AuthorThat makes sense I guess, but still frustrating. I might try that service as a last resort if the email and CareerSource options don't pan out. Did they ask you for any personal information beyond what you'd already given DEO?
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Eva St. Cyr
After you get this resolved, make sure you set up Multi-Factor Authentication on your CONNECT account if you haven't already. It's under "Account Security" in your profile settings. This helps prevent future fraud flags. Also, once your account is unlocked, you'll need to claim all those missed weeks immediately - there's only a 14-day window to claim past weeks once they become available again.
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Melody Miles
AuthorThank you for that tip about the 14-day window! I had no idea there was a time limit once it gets fixed. I'll definitely set up that multi-factor authentication too. Really appreciate everyone's help here - feeling a bit less desperate now.
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