Will DEO reduce my benefits if I take temporary work? Need urgent advice
So I'm in a really tight spot financially. My DEO unemployment benefit is $675 for 2 weeks, which barely covers half my mortgage. I'm actively searching for a permanent position but it's taking longer than expected. I noticed CareerSource has these one-day temp jobs posted occasionally that could bring in maybe an extra $300-350 a month if I'm lucky (they don't post them often). I'm terrified that if I take these short gigs, DEO will either cut my benefits completely or reduce them so much that I'll be worse off. Has anyone reported temporary work while on unemployment? How exactly does the reporting work on CONNECT? Will they just subtract what I earn or will they disqualify me? I'm literally in tears trying to figure out how to keep my house while waiting for a full-time job to come through. Any advice would be so appreciated.
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Liam McGuire
Florida DEO doesn't completely cut off your benefits if you work part-time or temporary jobs, but they do reduce your weekly benefit amount based on what you earn. When you claim your weeks, you have to report ANY income earned during that week (even if you haven't been paid yet). They use an 80% rule - for every dollar you earn, they deduct 80 cents from your weekly benefit. So if you earn $100, they'll deduct $80 from your benefit that week. If what you earn exceeds your weekly benefit amount, you won't receive benefits for that week, but you'll still remain eligible for future weeks. Make sure you accurately report those earnings - they do check with employers!
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QuantumQuasar
•Thank you! That actually makes me feel better. So if my weekly benefit is $337.50 and I earn $200 from a temp job, they would deduct $160 (80% of $200) and I'd still get $177.50 in benefits that week? That's better than nothing. I'm just paranoid about messing up my claim since it took forever to get approved.
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Amara Eze
Dude i was in ur same boat last year. took a 3-day catering gig reported it honestly and DEO sent me a FRAUD notice!!! took 5 weeks to clear up and no payments the whole time. not saying dont do it but document EVERYTHINg. save texts, emails, pay stubs.
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Giovanni Greco
•This happens ALL the time with DEO! Their system flags part-time work as potential fraud even when you report it correctly. I went through the same nightmare last year. Make sure you keep screenshots of EVERYTHING - including the confirmation page after you report your work and earnings. The adjudication process for these "fraud" flags is ridiculous.
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Fatima Al-Farsi
I'm in the exact situation right now! Been taking Instacart gigs while looking for a real job. Here's what I've learned: 1) Always report income EARNED in the week you worked (not when paid) 2) If your weekly benefit is $337.50, you can earn up to $421.88 before losing ALL benefits for that week (because 80% of $421.88 = $337.50) 3) Even if you don't get benefits for one week because you earned too much, your claim stays active and you can claim again next time. The CONNECT system has a section where you report work and earnings when claiming weeks - it'll ask for the employer name, hours, and gross earnings. Hope this helps!
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QuantumQuasar
•This is super helpful, thank you! I didn't realize the cutoff was that high. That makes me feel better about taking short gigs. Do you know if I need to list CareerSource as my employer or the actual company where I'd be doing the temp work?
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Dylan Wright
ok but has anyone tried reaching DEO to ask directly?? id rather hear from them than randos online (no offense). But DEO never picks up when i call!!!!!!
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Sofia Torres
•I tried calling DEO for weeks about a similar question last month and just got endless busy signals or disconnects. Finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual DEO agent in about 30 minutes. Their website has a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/UzW_hbUy-ss?si=zORd51jeq1GX5Ldj. The agent confirmed exactly what others are saying here - you can work part-time but have to report earnings, and they reduce benefits by 80% of what you earn. They won't close your claim for working part-time as long as you report it.
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GalacticGuardian
I'm working partime at Target and getin unemployment. LISTEN - when u report work, ONLY report the hours you ACTUALLY worked that week, not scheduled hrs. And report GROSS pay (before taxes). DEO doesnt care where u work temp or not, they just care bout how much u made. If u make more than your weekly benefit they don't pay for tht week but u still keep claiming!!!! I think its smart to take the temp work cause unemplyment runs out after 12 weeks in FL anywayz....
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QuantumQuasar
•That's a good point about unemployment running out. I didn't think about that. I've already used 4 weeks of my benefits, so I need to be thinking about the long-term too. Thanks for the tip about reporting actual hours worked vs scheduled!
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Liam McGuire
One important thing no one has mentioned: If you work less than full-time, you must still complete the five work search activities each week to maintain eligibility. The temp work doesn't count toward your work search requirements. Many people miss this and end up having issues with their claims. Also, keep a separate log of all your work search activities AND your temp work hours/pay in case DEO audits your claim later (which they often do).
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Amara Eze
•wait WHAT?? i thought if u worked ANY hours in a week u didnt have to do work searches for that week? thats what the DEO website says i think??? now im confused
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Giovanni Greco
I understand your anxiety about this. DEO's partial unemployment rules can be confusing. Let me clarify: You MUST report all earnings when you claim weeks, even small amounts. If you don't, it's considered fraud and they can make you repay all benefits plus penalties. However, taking temporary work shouldn't disqualify you completely. Regarding the work search requirements - technically if you work less than full-time in a week, you still need to complete work searches. But if you're "job attached" (meaning you have a return-to-work date within 8 weeks), you might be exempt. This is something you should confirm with a DEO representative to be absolutely certain for your specific situation.
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QuantumQuasar
•Thank you for this detailed explanation. I'll definitely report everything accurately. I don't have a return-to-work date since these would be random one-off gigs, so I'll make sure to keep up with my work searches. Really appreciate everyone's help here - I was so stressed about this!
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