DEO denied my July week as a 'waiting week' despite waiver still being active - hung up on at lunch!

The same thing happened to me!! I reapplied in April and lost my waiting week even though it's supposed to be waived. I kept calling for THREE WEEKS straight and finally got someone who actually knew what they were doing. The regular agents don't know anything! You need to specifically ask for a DETERMINATION specialist who handles waiting week waivers. Don't let them transfer you to just any supervisor.

The waiting week waiver is definitely still active, but it's a known glitch in the CONNECT system when you transition between benefit years or quarters. The system automatically applies a waiting week even though it shouldn't. You need to specifically request an 'override code' from a tier 2 agent. Also, for that last week of June you couldn't claim - that's likely because your benefit year ended and when you reapplied, the system treats it as a completely new claim. You should be able to backdate a request for that week once your new claim is fully processed. Document everything - dates, times, who you spoke with. Ask for ID numbers when you get agents on the phone. If you can't get through by phone, try emailing reemployment.assistance@deo.myflorida.com with 'WAITING WEEK WAIVER ERROR' in the subject line.

omg they ALWAYS hang up at lunch!!! its so annoying!!!! i swear they do it on purpose because one time i called at 11:55 and got thru and the lady literally told me she had to go to lunch in 5 min so she couldnt help me with my issue!!!

I work for a staffing agency and talk to people dealing with unemployment issues all day. Trust me when I say this waiting week problem is affecting TONS of people right now. DEO's system is incorrectly applying waiting weeks after the most recent quarterly change. It's a known issue they're supposedly working on, but their fix keeps getting delayed. The fastest way to resolve this is to get a tier 2 agent on the phone who can manually override it. The problem is getting through to anyone at all. I've had several clients use Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through the phone system. It basically calls for you and connects you when an agent answers. They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/UzW_hbUy-ss?si=zORd51jeq1GX5Ldj. Several people got their waiting week issues fixed within a day using this instead of spending weeks trying to get through.

btw don't bother with their email system right now!!!! i sent 4 emails over 3 weeks and NOTHING!!! they aren't responding to emails AT ALL from what I can tell!!!

THE SYSTEM IS COMPLETELY BROKEN!!! I've been dealing with DEO for 2 years and it's gotten WORSE not better. They owe me almost $3000 in back benefits and I can't get anyone to help me. I filed an official complaint with the state ombudsman office and even that didn't get me anywhere. I'm convinced they deliberately make it impossible to reach anyone so they can keep denying us benefits they're required by law to pay!!!

For the waiting week issue, there's actually a form you can submit online through your CONNECT account. Once logged in, go to "Determination, Pending Issues and Decision Summary" then click on "Fact Finding for Pending Issues." If you see the waiting week listed, you can submit documentation there indicating the waiver should apply. For the missed week from June, that's trickier because it crosses benefit years. You'll need to speak with a claims examiner who specializes in quarter changes. Make sure to emphasize to any agent that you speak with that this involves a quarter change issue, not just a regular missed week claim. If calling isn't working, another option is to visit a CareerSource Florida center in person. They have direct lines to DEO staff that can sometimes bypass the regular call queue. Bring your claim information and ID with you if you go this route.

this happned to me to!!! i think its a glitch in there stuped system. its so anoying that we have to deal with this garbage when we just need are money!!! good luck

UPDATE: I finally got through to DEO this morning! Used the Claimyr service that someone recommended above and got connected to an agent within 20 minutes instead of fighting busy signals all day. The agent confirmed it was a system error on both issues. She was able to immediately apply the waiting week waiver override for my July week. For the missing June week, she had to transfer me to a different department, but that specialist was able to process a "cross-quarter claim week adjustment" to recover that payment too. Both payments should be processed within 48 hours. HUGE relief! Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions!