DEO still holding my self-employment benefits from 3 years ago - tried everything!

You definitely need to contact your state representative ASAP. I was in a similar situation last year (not 3 years, but 8 months of waiting for my self-employment claim to be processed). I contacted my local representative's office and had results within 2 weeks after months of nothing. They have special contacts at DEO who can actually look into your claim and push it through when it's stuck in bureaucratic limbo. Go to myfloridahouse.gov, enter your address, and it will show you who your representative is. Email AND call their office, be polite but firm about how long you've been waiting. Provide your claim ID number, the dates you filed, and a brief summary of all the documentation you've already provided.

3 YEARS??? That's insane even for DEO! I thought my 4 month wait was bad. Have you tried calling the special claims department directly? There's a different number for self-employment issues.

I work with people dealing with DEO issues regularly. For a case this old, you need to do three things immediately: 1. Contact your state representative as mentioned above - this is your best option 2. Submit a formal written appeal citing the exact dates of your original claim and all follow-up communications 3. Request a formal "Status of Claim" investigation through the DEO Reemployment Assistance Help Center Self-employment claims from 3+ years ago are likely caught in what we call "perpetual adjudication" where they've been flagged for review but never actually assigned to an adjudicator. The representative's office can break this cycle. Also be aware that for self-employment claims, you need to have provided proof of both income AND proof that your self-employment was impacted by qualifying circumstances. Many people provide only income documentation.

State reps are hit or miss. Mine didn't do anything for me. Just said they'd "look into it" and never heard back.

Have you tried using Claimyr to get through to DEO? I was in a similar situation (though not waiting 3 years, that's terrible) and couldn't get anyone on the phone for weeks. A friend told me about this service called Claimyr that gets you through to a DEO agent without the endless busy signals and disconnects. You can see how it works at claimyr.com or watch their demo video: https://youtu.be/UzW_hbUy-ss?si=zORd51jeq1GX5Ldj It helped me finally connect with someone who could actually see what was happening with my claim instead of just the generic helpline people. Worth a shot while you're also pursuing the state rep route, in my opinion. I was able to get someone who explained the exact holdup on my self-employment verification.

omg this same exact thing happened to my brother!!! DEO is the WORST!!! he ended up having to hire a lawyer to threaten them with a lawsuit before they finally processed his claim. it took about 4 months after the lawyer sent a letter. might be worth looking into if the state rep thing doesn't work.

Self-employment claims were handled completely differently 3 years ago depending on whether you were applying for regular Reemployment Assistance or the pandemic programs like PUA. For regular RA with self-employment, the review process was MUCH stricter. Can I ask which program you applied for? That might help identify the specific issue. Also, here's my advice as someone who worked through these issues during that period: prepare a single document with a timeline of EVERYTHING - when you applied, all communications, confirmation numbers, names of agents you spoke with, documents submitted and when. State representatives need this comprehensive overview to effectively advocate for you. You may also need to complete a Form G-1401, Authorization for Release of Information, so the representative can legally inquire about your claim. Many rep offices have this form on their websites.

when did u last contact them about this? cuz i thought there was like a 1yr limit to dispute claims or something??

As a follow-up: when you contact your state representative, be sure to specifically request that they ask DEO for a "Final Determination" on your claim. This forces them to make a decision one way or another, which then gives you appeal rights if necessary. Without a determination, your claim can theoretically remain "pending" forever. Also, if you were approved for PUA but payments were never released, that's a specific technical issue that was common during the pandemic. It's called a "payment hold" status, and it requires a supervisor override in the CONNECT system. This is exactly the kind of issue a legislative office can help resolve, as they can speak directly to supervisors at DEO.