DEO adjudication delay with severance pay - do I wait 13 weeks before benefits start?

In Florida, severance pay does affect your unemployment benefits. DEO considers severance as income for the period it's meant to cover, so yes, you likely need to wait until that 13-week period ends before receiving benefits. The adjudication is them reviewing your severance documentation and calculating when your benefits can begin. However, you should still claim your weeks during this waiting period! If you don't, you could lose eligibility altogether. They'll deny those weeks that overlap with your severance period, but once that period ends, you'll start receiving benefits if you've been claiming regularly.

OMG I went thru the EXACT same thing!!! My company gave me 8 weeks severance and DEO made me wait the full 8 weeks b4 i got ANY money. It's complete BS if u ask me, like I already PAID for unemploymenmt insurance thru my taxes all these years?!?! Its NOT fair but thats how they do it. Keep filing every 2 weeks tho or you'll mess up your claim!!!!!

I had a similar situation with a 6-week severance package last year. Here's what happens: 1. DEO will calculate your weekly benefit amount (WBA) based on your past earnings 2. They'll divide your total severance by your WBA to determine how many weeks of benefits it displaces 3. During adjudication, they're reviewing your severance documentation and other eligibility factors 4. You MUST continue claiming weeks during this period to maintain your claim 5. Once your severance period ends, benefits will begin automatically if you've been claiming regularly The adjudication could also be for other issues besides severance (like reason for separation, availability for work, etc). If you need to speak with someone at DEO to clarify, I'd recommend using Claimyr (claimyr.com). They helped me get through when I was stuck in adjudication for weeks. There's a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/UzW_hbUy-ss?si=zORd51jeq1GX5Ldj

Wait what?? I got 4 weeks severance last summer and still got benefits right away. Are you sure about this? Maybe check again, I think it depends on how they coded your severance in the system.

I'm going through this EXACT nightmare right now. Been waiting 9 weeks with my claim stuck in adjudication because of my severance package. Called like 50+ times and never got through. Their whole system is designed to frustrate people into giving up! Make sure you're claiming your weeks even though you won't get paid yet - I learned that the hard way and had to get a supervisor to backdate some of my weeks. The DEO website should honestly explain this CLEARLY instead of leaving everyone confused about how severance affects claims!!

One more thing - while you're waiting for the severance period to end, use this time to make sure you're fulfilling your work search requirements (5 activities per week). Even though you're not receiving benefits yet, DEO can still audit these later. Keep detailed records of all your job applications, networking, and other work search activities.

To answer your follow-up question: Yes, you should report your severance on your biweekly claim forms for the weeks it's meant to cover. Even though you received it as a lump sum, DEO calculates it as if it were weekly income spread across 13 weeks. Regarding the adjudication - it could be for the severance issue alone, but it might also include verification of your reason for separation or other eligibility factors. Unfortunately, CONNECT doesn't always show the specific issues being reviewed. This is where speaking directly with a DEO agent would help clarify exactly what they're examining in your case.

ya'll making this more complicated than it is. they take ur severance, divide by ur weekly benefit amount, and that's how many weeks u gotta wait. just keep claiming every 2 weeks and when the severance period ends they'll start paying u automatically if everything else checks out. they don't actually need to talk to u for this part usually

I'm in a similar boat - got laid off in October with 10 weeks severance and DEO has been dragging their feet on adjudication for over a month now. One thing I learned is that you can check your "monetary determination" in CONNECT to see what your weekly benefit amount will be once payments start. This helps you calculate exactly when your severance period ends. Also, if you're really struggling financially during this wait, some local food banks and assistance programs don't count severance as current income since you're not actively receiving weekly payments. Might be worth looking into if you need help bridging the gap. The whole system is frustrating but hang in there - the benefits will come once that severance period is over!

I went through this exact situation 6 months ago with a 12-week severance package. The waiting period is definitely frustrating, but here's what helped me get through it: First, create a detailed timeline showing when your 13-week severance period ends so you know exactly when to expect benefits to start. Second, during the adjudication wait, gather all your severance documentation (offer letter, payment stub, etc.) in case they request it. Third, consider applying for temporary work or gig jobs during this period since you're required to be actively seeking work anyway - just make sure to report any income on your claim forms. The good news is that once your severance period ends and adjudication is complete, you'll likely receive all your back-dated benefits for the weeks you claimed during the waiting period. Stay consistent with your biweekly claims and work search activities, and the system will eventually work in your favor. It's a terrible process but you're doing everything right by staying on top of it!

I'm dealing with something similar right now - got laid off in December with 8 weeks severance and my claim has been in adjudication for 3 weeks. This thread has been super helpful! One thing I wanted to add is that you can actually estimate your weekly benefit amount before it's officially calculated. Florida uses a formula based on your highest quarter of earnings in your base period (usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters before you filed). Take that quarter's total wages, divide by 13, then multiply by 0.5 - that should give you a rough idea of your weekly benefit amount. Then you can divide your $18,500 severance by that amount to see exactly how many weeks you'll need to wait. Also, I've heard that some people have success getting through to DEO by calling right when they open at 7:30 AM or using the Spanish language line and asking to be transferred to an English speaker. Haven't tried it myself yet but might be worth a shot if you really need to speak with someone about your specific adjudication issues.

I'm currently going through this exact situation - laid off in January with a 15-week severance package and stuck in adjudication limbo for the past month! Reading through everyone's experiences here has been incredibly reassuring that I'm not alone in this frustrating process. One thing I wanted to add that might help others: I discovered you can actually track your claim status more detailed by logging into CONNECT and checking the "View and Maintain Account Information" section - it sometimes shows additional details about what specific issues are being reviewed during adjudication that aren't visible on the main claim status page. Also, for anyone struggling with the financial gap during the severance waiting period, I found that some utility companies and creditors are willing to work with you if you explain you're waiting for unemployment benefits to start due to severance pay displacement. Many have hardship programs that can defer payments or reduce bills temporarily. It's not ideal having to wait so long for benefits we've paid into, but at least we can support each other through this broken system! Keep claiming those weeks everyone - we'll get through this!

I'm going through almost the exact same situation! Got laid off in December with 11 weeks severance pay and have been stuck in adjudication for over a month now. This whole thread has been incredibly helpful - I had no idea I needed to keep claiming weeks during the severance waiting period until I read Adrian's comment. I almost stopped claiming because I thought it was pointless! One thing I learned from calling my state representative's office (after getting nowhere with DEO directly) is that they can sometimes help expedite adjudication cases that have been pending for an unusually long time. It's worth a shot if you've been waiting more than 6-8 weeks. They told me that while the severance waiting period is mandatory, the adjudication review itself shouldn't take forever. Also, I've been using the EMPLOY Florida website to track my work search activities during this waiting period - it automatically logs into your DEO account so you don't have to manually enter everything later. Makes it way easier to stay compliant with the 5 activities per week requirement. Hang in there - from what everyone's saying, once that 13-week period ends, the benefits should start flowing as long as you've been consistently claiming. We're all in this frustrating boat together!