DEO partial unemployment confusion - haven't received promised backpay for reduced hours

When did u claim ur weeks? U need to claim every 2 weeks even with partial unemployment. I'm in retail and my hours got cut from 38 to like 15-17 back in December and I've been claiming partial since then. The backpay doesn't just automatically happen - u gotta claim each week and report exactly what u earned. Check under "claim weeks" section and see if u have unclaimed weeks.

I went through something similar with reduced hours last year. Here's how the backpay process actually works: 1. First, they have to adjust your claim start date in their system (sounds like they did this by moving it to January) 2. Then they have to manually add the previous weeks to your CONNECT account for you to claim. This doesn't happen automatically - it requires the agent to create a ticket to the benefits department. 3. Once those weeks appear in your account (usually takes 5-7 business days), you'll need to claim them all individually and report your exact earnings for each week. 4. After claiming, it takes another 2-3 weeks for payments to process on backdated weeks. The reason you don't see that first payment in your CONNECT history is likely because they processed it manually as a test payment to verify your payment method works. This is standard procedure before they release a larger backpay amount. I recommend calling again and specifically asking if they've created the ticket to add your backdated weeks to your CONNECT account. If they haven't done this step, the backpay process hasn't actually started yet, regardless of what they told you.

I had to deal with partial unemployment in Florida for almost 8 months. Getting through to DEO is practically impossible these days - busy signals, disconnects, or 3+ hour holds just to get someone who might not even know the correct procedure. I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an agent in under 25 minutes. They have a system that navigates the phone tree and holds your place in line, then calls you when an agent is ready. There's a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/UzW_hbUy-ss?si=zORd51jeq1GX5Ldj Once I got through, I specifically asked about my "backdate ticket status" - using those exact words is important. Found out my ticket was stuck because they needed additional income verification. Within 48 hours of providing that, my backdated weeks appeared in CONNECT. Also, keep in mind that for partial unemployment, if you earn more than $275 in a week, you won't receive benefits for that week, but you STILL need to report those earnings to maintain your claim validity.

THE WHOLE DEO SYSTEM IS A JOKE!!! I had reduced hours for THREE MONTHS at the hospital where I work and NEVER SAW A SINGLE PAYMENT despite calling EVERY SINGLE DAY!!! They kept saying "oh we see your claim, it's processing" then "oh we need more verification" then "oh there was a system problem" then "oh we need to escalate this" OVER AND OVER AND OVER!!!!! Don't hold your breath waiting for that backpay. They're INTENTIONALLY making the system complicated to reduce how much they have to pay out. And the agents contradict each other CONSTANTLY because half of them don't even know their own rules!!! If you actually get your money consider yourself LUCKY because thousands of us never did!!!

A bit more information that might help: When you're on partial unemployment in Florida, you need to understand how the income deductions work. Florida uses what's called the "earnings disregard" formula: The first $58 of your weekly earnings are ignored (disregarded), then they deduct 50% of the remainder from your weekly benefit amount (max $275). So if you earn $200 in a week: - First $58 is disregarded: $200 - $58 = $142 - 50% of remainder: $142 × 50% = $71 - Benefit reduction: $71 - Weekly payment: $275 - $71 = $204 This is why your payment amounts will vary week to week based on your earnings. And if you earn over $492 in any week, you'll receive $0 for that week (because after the formula, the deduction would exceed $275). Ask the DEO representative to verify they're using this formula correctly for your backdated weeks. Many agents calculate it incorrectly.

my sister works at the call center for deo and she says they've got a huge backlog right now because of their system upgrade in april. lots of partial unemployment claims are stuck in manual review because the system flags them when there's income reported. she said to keep claiming every week no matter what and make sure u report all income exactly as it appears on your pay stubs. any discrepancy will lock the whole claim for review.

One last piece of advice: Document EVERYTHING. Every time you speak with DEO: 1. Write down the date, time, and agent's name 2. Take detailed notes of what they tell you 3. Ask for a confirmation/reference number for the call 4. If they promise to take a specific action, ask when you can expect it to be completed 5. Request an email confirmation when possible Florida's DEO is notoriously inconsistent, and having this documentation will be crucial if you need to escalate your claim or file an appeal. I had to reference my call notes multiple times to prove I had received certain instructions from agents. Also, your calculation in the previous comment is off - at $385 weekly income, you would receive approximately $82 per week: $385 - $58 = $327 $327 × 50% = $163.50 $275 - $163.50 = $111.50 per week So for 12 weeks of backpay (Jan-Mar), you'd be looking at roughly $1,338 before taxes, assuming your income was consistent each week.