CRystal Tucker of Polk County, Florida, has spent months solving problems with her unemployment benefits since she was fired in March 2020 from her job in the licensing department at Legoland in the Orlando area.
Like millions of other people in Florida and across the country, Tucker is a victim of an unemployment system that is unable to handle the record number of claims that swept the country during the coronavirus pandemic. In Florida, the situation is particularly catastrophic.
Tucker began receiving benefits, but she was considered unreachable when she completed her weekly application on June 10, after retiring from her position as claims manager at Walmart after 14 years. Tucker quit because of a recurrence of lupus, an autoimmune disease, just as her workload increased due to cuts in her department. She was concerned about the impact a coronavirus infection could have on her already compromised immune system.
“I’m homeless now,” Tucker said. “I do not have a car and I have sold everything of value, so I could pay for my doctor’s appointments, medicines and dog supplies. I do not know how much longer I can keep it together. ”
The Florida unemployment system has come under heavy scrutiny since the pandemic reached the shores of the US and unemployment rose.
During an interview with CBS Miami last week, Florida Mayor Ron DeSantis admitted that the state’s unemployment system was deliberately designed with various roadblocks to deter people from claiming benefits. The permit confirms claims by one of its advisers in an April 2020 interview with Politico that the state’s unemployment system is set up to make it difficult for people to get benefits and move on. The state has one of the lowest payouts in the U.S., capped at a maximum of $ 275 per week.
The processing of unemployment claims in Florida has improved compared to the first months of the pandemic, but thousands of people are still waiting for payments when their claims will be processed, trying to repair claims for which they were not eligible. benefits or struggle to get backdated payments on their claims.
According to the Florida State Dashboard, more than 3.28 m of confirmed unemployment claims were submitted between March 15 and August 4. More than 633,000 claims were deemed unsuitable for benefits from state or federal unemployment, more than 68,000 claims are queued and awaiting processing and nearly 100,000 processed claims are still awaiting payment.
Tucker had scheduled an appeal hearing for July 28, but a Walmart representative did not appear, and it was scheduled for August 18 again.
Meanwhile, Tucker has no health insurance, and had to sell her jewelry to cover $ 450 for doctor’s appointments and medical expenses, and can not afford to schedule follow-up visits recommended by her doctor. She rented a room from a couple for the pandemic, but had to leave when she could no longer pay rent and is currently sleeping on a couch in a sun room at a friend’s house.
“I have spent hours and hours calling various unemployment numbers to get help with problems on my claim,” Tucker added. “There is no reason why my unemployment should be denied. I did everything right. ”
As thousands of people in Florida continue to try to solve problems with their unemployment benefits, the expiration of $ 600 per week extended unemployment benefits from the federal government on July 26 forced the still unemployed to rely on the state maximum benefits of $ 275 per week. Congress remains deadlocked over a possible extension of the extra payments.
Monika Bon has been indeterminate since March 9 from her job in land safety for cruise ships in Port Canaveral, Florida. It took her until May 24 to complete and process her unemployment application, but she is still having trouble receiving her backdated payments for 10 weeks.
“I used every coin I had for a few months that I could not get into the departmental system for economic opportunities,” Bon said.
In Lakeland, Florida, Lauren Baker has been fired from her position as accountant and does not expect to be recalled until at least December. Since her retirement, she has struggled to appeal against her determination of liability, which initially stated that she did not make enough in wages to be eligible for state unemployment benefits.
“I made more than $ 15,000 with my current employer, but they still said my salary was not enough. I have been submitting my payroll records since May. I call every day. I email dozens of representatives a week, “said Baker, who is still struggling to resolve her issues with the system. suitability. “
After 20 weeks of calling, sending e-mails and trying to process her unemployment claim, Lillie Blaney finally began receiving her unemployment benefits after she was fired in April as a manufacturing company for a transportation company based in Bradenton, Florida.
‘It’s been really hard. I had to go to food banks, put my mortgage on pay, get help from churches to pay some utilities and mortgage help, ”Blaney said.
Florida lawmakers have criticized a recent decision to award a new $ 135 million contract to Deloitte Consulting for the modernization of Florida’s Medicaid database, while the 2011 Unemployment Workplace Company is being investigated. A class action lawsuit was filed in April against the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity and Deloitte Consulting, which denied negligence and breach of fiduciary duty for failing to maintain and operate the state unemployment benefit system. A judge is currently reviewing whether the lawsuit will be allowed to continue.
“The Florida system has been broken for a long time,” said Marie Mattox, a Tallahassee, Florida-based attorney who filed the lawsuit. “There are so many people in Florida who are hurt by the delays in paying, not being paid at all, and there are still people who are not paying. Our hope is that no one else will have to go through this again. ”
