Federal
Unemployment Programs on tap
Newly Extended Payments Begin
AWI -
Tallahassee (posted April 21, 2010 05:55
pm)
Agency for Workforce Innovation Director
Cynthia R. Lorenzo today announced the agency
has begun making additional federal Emergency
Unemployment Compensation (EUC) payments, less
than a week after President Obama signed
legislation extending eligibility dates for the
program by two months. AWI Unemployment
Compensation and Information Technology staff
worked diligently to update programming required
by the changes so that payments could begin as
quickly as possible.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
• The new law did not add any
additional weeks of benefits.
• Beneficiaries who are potentially eligible for
additional EUC benefits will be notified by mail.
• Beneficiaries who believe they may be eligible may
begin certifying their weeks immediately a
Floridajobs.org or by calling (800) 204-2418.
“Ensuring timely payments to the unemployment
compensation beneficiaries who depend on us is a top
priority of this agency, and a responsibility we take
very seriously,” said Director Lorenzo. “I encourage
all beneficiaries who recently received a notice of
final payment to contact us to determine if they are
eligible for additional benefits.”
Emergency Unemployment Compensation
There are currently four tiers of federal EUC
benefits available to eligible beneficiaries.
Details on those tiers can be found on the agency’s
website.
Under the new law signed April 15, the eligibility
date to qualify for EUC Tier I was extended until May 22
and the eligibility dates for Tier II, III and IV were
extended until May 29. The new law extended eligibility
dates by approximately two months but did not add new
weeks of benefits.
Because the new eligibility dates were approved by
Congress after the previous deadlines had passed, some
beneficiaries have begun receiving final payment notices
in the mail.
The agency is now mailing notices of the new
eligibility dates to potentially eligible beneficiaries.
In the meantime, those who believe they may be eligible
under the new dates should visit
Florida Jobs or
call (800) 204-2418 to certify for any weeks to which
they may be entitled. Certifying online is the
quickest and most efficient way to process payments.
Federal Additional Compensation
Under the new law, beneficiaries who establish an
unemployment compensation claim by May 30, 2010 will
also be eligible to receive Federal Additional
Compensation payments of $25 weekly, funded by the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Due to the
extension of the eligibility period, beneficiaries who
are eligible will automatically receive a retroactive
FAC payment. The FAC program ends in December.
Extended Benefits
The federal legislation also provided an extension of
federal funding for Extended Benefits (EB) in states
that are currently in an EB period. The agency is
monitoring legislation pending in the Florida
Legislature (SB 1736) that would make the necessary
statutory revisions to allow Florida to take advantage
of this additional federal funding. Visit
Florida Jobs and click on “Hot Topics” under Quick
Links for updates.
