March 3rd, 2021

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Beginning today, the     Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) will provide daily updates     on the efforts made to address the challenges to Florida’s Reemployment     Assistance program in response to COVID-19. This includes a new State     Reemployment Assistance Claims Dashboard that will be updated daily to     reflect the total number of Reemployment Assistance Claims submitted,     verified, processed, and paid.  

“We understand the challenges to the CONNECT system have     only added to the stress on Florida families, and my number one goal is to     ensure Floridians in need of reemployment assistance get paid, quickly.     This will start with complete transparency, efficiently streamlining the     reemployment assistance process, waiving all red tape and ensuring hurting     Florida families have the aid they need to get through COVID-19,” said     Department of Management Services Secretary Jonathan Satter. 

State Reemployment Assistance Claims Dashboard 

The State Reemployment Assistance Claims Dashboard will be     available here and updated daily to reflect the following     information: 

Reemployment Assistance Claims Paid 

From Sunday, March 15 to Sunday, April 19, DEO has made     170,407 payments to Floridians in Reemployment Assistance benefits totaling     $59,928,939. This includes 40,193 individual Floridians who applied for     Reemployment Assistance benefits after March 15. 

Over the last two weeks, 23,762 checks for $600 have been     mailed to Floridians for their benefits available through the Coronavirus     Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act. These     checks were provided by paper to ensure they were distributed as quickly as     possible. Floridians who received their $600 check will receive their state     benefits for Reemployment Assistance via direct deposit or prepaid debit     card based on their selection made. DEO remains committed to getting     benefits out to eligible Floridians as quickly as possible.

Reemployment Assistance Claims Processed

From Sunday, March 15 – Sunday, April 19, 2020, 162,039     claims have received a monetary determination. 

This means that a decision has been made on whether the claimant     is monetarily eligible to receive Reemployment Assistance benefits and what     the amount of their weekly benefits will be. 

Reemployment Assistance Claims Verification

From Sunday, March 15 – Sunday, April 19, 2020, 649,314     claims are currently being verified through the four-step verification     process. 

This means that an individual’s identity is being verified,     DEO is checking their wages in Florida and other states and a fraud     prevention check is being run on the claim. 

Reemployment Assistance Initial Claims Received

DEO is seeing historic increases in Floridians filing for     Reemployment Assistance and has received 1,533,723 applications for     Reemployment Assistance from March 15 through Sunday, April 19. This     number includes multiple duplicates and triplicates due to many individuals     filing directly in CONNECT, online and by paper. We are going through     the process of identifying duplicates and triplicates; and currently have     652,191 confirmed unique claims of the total claims submitted. 

*Florida Reemployment Assistance claim numbers are not     official until the U.S. Department of Labor releases them each     Thursday at 8:30 a.m. 

Technology Enhancements 

Over the weekend, DEO conducted necessary upgrades to     enhance the performance capability of CONNECT. These upgrades are     allowing the system to process claims faster so that individuals filing for     Reemployment Assistance can be paid as soon as possible. 

DEO will be conducting nightly maintenance to the CONNECT     system to help with processing claims. CONNECT will only be available from     8 a.m. – 7:59 p.m. daily.

Importantly, this will not affect individuals that are     filing a new claim. Individuals can file a new claim 24 hours a day, seven     days per week, please click here. 

Waiving Red Tape

At the Direction of Governor DeSantis, Secretary Satter is     working with the United States Department of Labor to identify any     regulatory burdens that can be waived to ensure that claims are processed     and paid quickly. Additionally, Governor DeSantis has suspended the     bi-weekly reporting requirement. This means individuals     do not have to log into CONNECT every two weeks to claim your     weeks of reemployment assistance.

CARES Act Update

The Federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) provides     unemployment benefits to those that may not otherwise be eligible for     regular Reemployment Assistance benefits. This includes individuals who are     self-employed or independent contractors. DEO will provide more information     on PUA and how to apply in the coming week. 

How to Apply

DEO has a mobile-friendly online application for individuals     filing a new Reemployment Assistance claim available at www.FloridaJobs.org/RAApplication. Click here to read     more. 

For more information about Reemployment Assistance benefits,     including how to apply, visit www.FloridaJobs.org/COVID-19. For     the Reemployment Assistance Resource Guide which includes frequently asked     questions, please click here.