FL sequence of unemployment benefits

**nancym** Wed Jul 15, 2009 1:20 pm

FLORIDA SEQUENCE OF UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS - COMPLETELY REVISED 12/1/09--updated again on 10/1/10, after passage of new laws, the last of which was in August, giving a new deadline date for the Tiers eligibility. Along with this new law, HR 4213, came an extension of the 100% funding for Florida's EB program. That funding was ignored by the Florida legislature in a very brief session, but Governor Crist overrode the legislature with an executive order to accept the federal EB money right away. This post has been updated for the dates of those new laws.

I see we have a lot of new people coming to this forum lately with the continued awful employment situation. Recent changes to the EUC Tiers, along with upcoming expiration dates on some programs, have changed this sequence of benefits substantially, and where you are in your benefits will determine what the future sequence will be for any individual.

For anyone confused about the sequence of benefits given by FL, this is the grouping of weeks and programs that applies under current law. The number of weeks would apply if:

a) You did substantial work and logged enough hours in the right time frames to get the full 26 weeks at the max amount of $275 per week, and
b) You did not work enough during or after your benefit year to make you automatically placed in a new benefit year, during which you would start again with the 26 weeks and possibly with a very small weekly amount. [Note: HR 4213 included a new provision that provides some exceptions to the usual rules for people who work a temp job and try to return to benefits or a new benefit year, but the provision is limited to only certain cases.]
c) You did not work during your benefit weeks, which would extend you account balances beyond the standard number of weeks.

If you do not fit into the max weeks/max benefits category, your number of weeks in each program could be substantially less. If your initial regular benefits award amount is $7150, you fit into this "max" sequence of benefits in Florida:

26 weeks - original claim, sometimes referred to as "regular benefits":
20 weeks - Tier 1 (EUC1)
14 weeks - Tier 2 (EUC2)
[20 weeks - EB (Extended Benefits) - state option given 100% federal funding, program will end for Florida on Nov 30, 2010]
13 weeks - Tier 3 (EUC3)
6 weeks* - Tier 4 (EUC4)

For those who were not eligible for EB previously after Tier 2 in 2009, or who may have some weeks left that weren't paid when they were transferred over to Tier 3, you would be eligible for a limited time for EB benefits after exhausting Tier 4. This is NOT an additional 20 weeks if you already got all your EB weeks; the max anyone can get in Florida for EB is 20 weeks, or whatever calculation is made based on your employment history:

[20 weeks or whatever number are left in account before Nov 30- EB (Extended Benefits) - state option given 100% federal funding, program will end for Florida on Nov 30, 2010]

* Tier 4 requires that Florida remains at or above 8.5% 3-month average TUR at the time an individual becomes eligible.

EB (Extended Benefits):
As of Nov 8, 2009 with the passage of HR 3548, the new law that provides for Tier 3 and Tier 4, all EB benefits for those still receiving them in Florida were switched over to EUC3, thus ending EB in Florida. EB was the only program for which work search records had to be reported in the certification process. EUC has no such requirement, but you should always keep good records of your work searches in case of any random audits by AWI (These are done occasionally, or presumably if there is any suspicion of irregularity in a claimant's statements on certifying.)

On Dec 19, 2009, Congress enacted further legislation to extend the entire EUC program cutoff dates, changing that date from Dec 31 to Feb 28, 2010. (This provision was added to a large defense spending bill, HR 3326.)

Further legislation passed in August extended these dates again. So whatever Tier you qualify for before Nov 30, 2010, is the Tier that you will be able to complete into 2010, and into the beginning of 2011, depending on which Tier and how many weeks are in your account. For some that will be an abrupt end to all benefits until a new law is passed; for others who can qualify for a new Tier just before November 30, it can mean an extra several months of benefits. (But again, after Nov 30, Tier eligibility is frozen until any new legislation is passed to further extend that cutoff date. Up until that time, to be eligible for any Tier, you simply have to exhaust the previous Tier.).

It's important to understand the cutoff date difference between the Tiers and EB. If you meet the eligibility deadline for any Tier before Nov 30, you are good for whatever length of time that Tier lasts, ending sometime in the spring. But for those on EB, no matter how many weeks in your account, EB payments will stop after Nov 30, 2010, unless further legislation is passed AND either the Florida legislature or the governor acts to accept any new federal monies.

Note that any calculation of benefits does not include the extra $25 that was a provision of the ARRA law in 2009. That money is given in addition to the amounts stated in your account balances. That provision expired in 2010 for new applicants, but is still available for those who were already on extended benefits before the law was passed. With HR 3548 in 2009, this weekly $25 amount was no longer be counted as income for anyone applying for food stamps.

help Thu Aug 06, 2009 1:41 am

Nancy,
This info is great. You did a wonderful job in detailing all the steps. It will help while I go through this mess of unemployment.

eitherhalf Tue Sep 15, 2009 9:42 pm

Hi, just joined the group and so glad to see so much info in one place. Just finished my first 26 weeks (new claim march 09) and when i applied on line for additional I automatically updated to 20 additional weeks. I am confused as I thought I got the 33 weeks first (13+7) but not the case. anyway if any info on why I skipped the second process i would appreciate.
thanx

eitherhalf Wed Sep 16, 2009 7:47 pm

got a letter today confirming it is emergency unemp comp for 20 weeks....it seems to have skipped the first 13 weeks extension posted in this topic and went straight to the 13+7. does any one know if this is not unusual

**GonzoFL** Wed Sep 16, 2009 8:15 pm

eitherhalf wrote:got a letter today confirming it is emergency unemp comp for 20 weeks....it seems to have skipped the first 13 weeks extension posted in this topic and went straight to the 13+7. does any one know if this is not unusual

Hmmmm......kind of an odd determination by AWI. Does that mean they skipped the 13 week "Bush Bucks" and combined tiers 1 and 2?....Or does the 1972 computer system have a punch card problem? You might want to check your account status on line and see what your total benefit amount is. In case you don't know how to access that...just go through the same motions as claiming your weeks,but after you input you SS# and pin, hit the button that says "claim information". Please let us know what your findings are.

**Unemployed In Orlando** Wed Sep 16, 2009 8:21 pm

I agree with Gonzo, this isnt normal at all, and doesnt sound right, you should definitely call tomorrow and try and get a clear explanation. Im curious as to know what they tell you, please post what you find out. Question

eitherhalf Wed Sep 16, 2009 9:44 pm

the amount of new benefit is 5500 and my weekly benefit amount is 275.00 which equals 20 weeks?!?
sorry about posting on the other board but this one didn't look like it got much traffic and i wanted exposure/input...won't happen again.

*ADMIN EDIT - Thats ok, but post in the "EB Ongoing Discussion" thread. This thread is for Senate Bills, Government etc, not really for specific claim questions Very Happy

eceltica Wed Oct 07, 2009 2:21 am

eitherhalf wrote:got a letter today confirming it is emergency unemp comp for 20 weeks....it seems to have skipped the first 13 weeks extension posted in this topic and went straight to the 13+7. does any one know if this is not unusual

The first bill was for 50% then that was amended to 80% 50% of 26 weeks = 13 wks
80% of 26 wks = 20 wks they added on the 7 wks after the first 13 wks ended
newer claimants will just see the 80% which =20 wks
I know this probably sounds confusing since I have not read anything with % just 13 wks and 26 wks it all depends on the amount of money that is in your original claim
mine was 7150.00 divided by 26 = 275.00 per wk and so on ,it is figured on the percentage of your original claim amount.If I can clarify please let me know>

mattsg84 Wed Oct 21, 2009 2:57 am

Hey, how is everyone doing? Well I hope ...

I've got a couple questions I was hoping someone would be able to help me with.

1) What is the difference between EB and EUC?
2) How many weeks of unemployment benefits can one receive in FL?
3) I've been unemployed since Jan. 09 , I believe I'm currently on my 2nd extention, how many are there in total?

Thanks so much in advance, your help is really appreciated.

*ADMIN EDIT - Your answer is here Very Happy

mattsg84 Wed Oct 21, 2009 3:09 am

Also, if I may ask ...

What is tier 1 and teir 2 benefits? and ...
Do these process go through automatically, or must I reapply?

**GonzoFL** Wed Oct 21, 2009 9:11 am

mattsg84 wrote:Hey, how is everyone doing? Well I hope ...

I've got a couple questions I was hoping someone would be able to help me with.

1) What is the difference between EB and EUC?
2) How many weeks of unemployment benefits can one receive in FL?
3) I've been unemployed since Jan. 09 , I believe I'm currently on my 2nd extention, how many are there in total?

Thanks so much in advance, your help is really appreciated.

Matt,good morning,

If you go to the home page you will find the topic Senate Bills, State Policies & Federal Initiatives,click on that,Nancy has listed the sequence of events. She did a great job listing the order...and as far as we know,it is still current. Read that over and if you still have questions,just ask.

InsuranceMan Fri Oct 30, 2009 9:56 pm

So hi...I'm new here.

A few things...

First, thank you SO much, NancyM, for this info. It's really helpful. I really appreciate it.

So here's my story. Kind of have to explain and give dates and stuff or else I know no one will be able to answer my questions, so bear with me.

I was laid off from my job a few months ago, applied for unemployment the same day I was let go, and the determinations went through in my favor (my former employer told me they wouldn't be fighting it because I was one of about 500 people who got let go all at the same time and we were all losing our jobs due to no fault of our own. This was (is) a Fortune 500 company. My benefit year for the unemployment benefits began on June 14th.

Now, I am aware that EUC benefits are set to expire (Unless Congress passes an extension in the meantime). The AWI says your benefits have to be exhausted or your benefit year has to expire prior to 12/19/09 in order to be eligible for Tier 1 EUC benefits. My questions are provided that no extensions are passed (which seems unlikely, obviously, but I just want a good idea of my current situation here.)

1). According to Nancym, I'm going to be eligible for a 13-week benefit extension once my initial 26 week benefit is exhausted. Is there a expiration date on this? My impression was that you had your initial 26 week claim, followed by Tier 1 EUC, Tier 2 EUC, and then EB. And then after EB you're SOL (which means Simply Out of Luck, before you get offended Wink

). Or do I go directly from the initial 26 weeks into Tier 1 EUC?

2). I'm confused about when my claim will be exhausted. I haven't worked at all since the layoff in June, so I've taken the entire $275 a week, every week. I'm scheduled to claim 2 more weeks on 11/3 for the 2-week period ending 10/31. Currently, my available credits are $2,067. So, in my calculation, that's a claim on 11/3, a claim on 11/17, a claim on 12/1, and a claim on 12/15, each claim for 2 weeks. So I should be exhausting my benefits the week of or the week prior to the expiration currently set on the EUC benefits, right? I'm worried about this because the first week is a waiting week and it gets difficult to determine how much time you have left.

3). If this 13-week extension that nancym talked about kicks in after my 26-week initial benefit, that puts me way past the December 19th deadline for EUC, doesn't it? So, in that case, it sounds like I'd exhaust my 26-week benefit, get 13 more weeks, and then either apply for EB (which I won't get because EB eligibility is set to expire 12/09, just like EUC is) or be SOL.

Thanks so much!

P.S. I understand I've only been unemployed for about 4 months and I'm going to admit right now that I know I'm in a better situation financially than many. I have no mortgage (I live in a 1-bedroom apartment), and I have no debt (even my car is paid off), no kids. I'm only responsible for me. So please don't misconstrue my questions as complaints or as a marginalization of the situation of other people who are facing more pressures than I am. I don't mean any offense to anyone. I know how hard it is out there for everyone.

eceltica Fri Oct 30, 2009 10:32 pm

There's one factor that nobody is taking in to consideration and that is the amount of money that you recieve on the original claim. This amount determines how many weeks of euc benefiets you recieve. So you do not nessasarily get the 13 weeks the twenty weeks etc. it is determined by percentage of your original claim. my original claim amount was 3983.00 divided by 275.00 equals 14.48 weeks not 26 the first tear is 80 % of the claim amount .80 x 3983 equals3186.00 divided by 275.00 equals 11.58 weeks not 13 and so on the next euc is 50% of the original claim balance .50 x 3983 equals 1991.50 divided by 275.00 equals 7.24 weeks not 13. Everybody is a little different depending on there original amount granted to them on there original claim. Surprised

InsuranceMan Fri Oct 30, 2009 10:37 pm

eceltica wrote:There's one factor that nobody is taking in to consideration and that is the amount of money that you recieve on the original claim. This amount determines how many weeks of euc benefiets you recieve. So you do not nessasarily get the 13 weeks the twenty weeks etc. it is determined by percentage of your original claim. my original claim amount was 3983.00 divided by 275.00 equals 14.48 weeks not 26 the first tear is 80 % of the claim amount .80 x 3983 equals3186.00 divided by 275.00 equals 11.58 weeks not 13 and so on the next euc is 50% of the original claim balance .50 x 3983 equals 1991.50 divided by 275.00 equals 7.24 weeks not 13. Everybody is a little different depending on there original amount granted to them on there original claim.

The original amount I was given on my original 26-week benefit was approximately $6750. I have $2,067 left. Have been claiming for maximum benefit since my benefit year started on 06/14/09.

eceltica Fri Oct 30, 2009 10:42 pm

Unemployed In Orlando wrote:I agree with Gonzo, this isnt normal at all, and doesnt sound right, you should definitely call tomorrow and try and get a clear explanation. Im curious as to know what they tell you, please post what you find out.

No this is not unusual the first extension was originally for fifty percentand they modified it to 80 percent.

eceltica Fri Oct 30, 2009 10:44 pm

nancym wrote:For anyone confused about the sequence of benefits given by FL, this is the grouping of weeks and programs that has occurred during the last several years. The number of weeks would apply if:

a) You did substantial work and logged enough hours in the right time frames to get the full 26 weeks at the max amount of $275 per week, and
b) You did not work enough during or after your benefit year to make you automatically placed in a new benefit year, during which you would start again with the 26 weeks and possibly with a very small weekly amount.

1) original claim, sometimes referred to as "regular unemployment": 26 weeks
2) first extension funding (this was started in the summer of 2008 for 13 weeks
3) Emergency Unemployment Compensation - signed into law by Bush in late Nov, '08, and the cutoff was extended til the end of 2009 by the stimulus bill:
EUC "Tier 1" - 7 weeks
EUC "Tier 2" - 13 weeks

This is not true the amount of weeks you get depends on the amount of money in your original claim it goes by percentage of your claim not by number of weeks.
4) Extended Benefits - state option given 100% federal funding under the stimulus, law passed April 29, benefits not to start til July '09: 20 weeks

Total = 79 weeks

Edit, 10/9/09: The EB benefits program will expire at the end of '09, but a new law soon may be passed by Congress and, if not changed before passage, will allow for 20 extra weeks (max) for Floridians in their EUC accounts. Other pending legislation may extend the EB program for those newly unemployed into 2010, but may take longer than the current emergency bill, HR 3548.

For those people who ended their original claims after the start of the first extension in the summer of '08, I'm not completely sure if the state considers that 13 weeks still in effect, or if it jumps to the EUC benefits right after the original claim. You would definitely get the EUC (provided you meet the a and b requirements), and after those 20 total EUC weeks you would be eligible for the newly passed Extended Benefits (EB) for another 20 weeks. (The EB claims will require a little more paperwork to track your work searches after you are determined eligible for EB.)

[If anyone can verify that they got the first 13 weeks on a later claim before they got the Tiers of EUC, please reply and I will edit this post for clarity.]

Follow-up 9/24/09: After some uncertainty here, it appears that recent UI claimants are still eligible for the full amount of EUC benefits before going into EB. The terms might have been confusing because they now refer to the "first 20 weeks EUC" for Tier 1--whereas those of us who started this process early had a 3-month interruption between the first 13 weeks of EUC and the extension that was signed by Bush in Nov '08, which added 7 weeks and then another 13 weeks for a Tier 2.

**nancym** Sun Nov 01, 2009 4:44 pm

eceltica--I'm not quite sure the reason for your previous post, was that an intentional quote to point out the first part about the weeks --"The number of weeks would apply if:

a) You did substantial work and logged enough hours in the right time frames to get the full 26 weeks at the max amount of $275 per week, and
b) You did not work enough during or after your benefit year to make you automatically placed in a new benefit year, during which you would start again with the 26 weeks and possibly with a very small weekly amount.

--or was the post a "typo" and would you like me to delete it??

In any case, thanks for pointing out the fact that not everyone can count on the same number of weeks if they do not have the maximum allowable benefit, based on the weeks and income in their benefit year.

**nancym** Sun Nov 01, 2009 4:54 pm

InsuranceMan--

It's not always obvious to new posters where to post, but you had an earlier post that I think was moved to this thread:

https://unemployed-florida.forumotion.com/latest-uc-eb-euc-awi-news-f1/new-unemployment-claims-ongoing-t70.htm

Both GonzoFL and I posted replies there for you. Please use that thread for any responses about your individual situation as it relates to ongoing claims, and welcome to the board!

bittybear Mon Nov 09, 2009 3:13 am

[quote="nancym"]For anyone confused about the sequence of benefits given by FL, this is the grouping of weeks and programs that has occurred during the last several years. The number of weeks would apply if:

4) Extended Benefits - state option given 100% federal funding under the stimulus, law passed April 29, benefits not to start til July '09: 20 weeks

I followed this closely while it was being debated in the state legislature. The federal gov't offered to fund the EB program IF Florida chose to "modernize" the eligiblity criteria for workers, making them more liberal and allowing more people to collect. Our legistators decided to forgo the offer, and instead extended the tax on Florida employers to fund their 50% requirement.

Here's the link:

http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?FileName=_s0810er.DOCX&DocumentType=Bill&BillNumber=0810&Session=2009

I also learned that each state can choose whether to pay emergency benefits or extended benefits first, emergency being 100% federally funded and extended being funded 50/50 state/federal under normal circumstances. The ARRA offered 100% federal funding of the extended benefits, if the states chose to change the eligibility rules. Most states will elect to pay out the federally funded emergency benefits first (go figure). I believe there's even a way for states to suspend extended benefits to pay out emergency benefits, and then go back to where you left off on your extended amount, altho that won't occur now because of the phase-out date of January 2 in the state legislation.

Bittybear

**nancym** Mon Nov 09, 2009 7:15 am

bittybear wrote:

I followed this closely while it was being debated in the state legislature. The federal gov't offered to fund the EB program IF Florida chose to "modernize" the eligiblity criteria for workers, making them more liberal and allowing more people to collect. Our legistators decided to forgo the offer, and instead extended the tax on Florida employers to fund their 50% requirement.

Bittybear

FYI, you might be interested in some more details to that story, and there was a lot of confusion in the press about this. Several of us were involved with NELP's and our local legislators' efforts to promote SB810, and so watched the drama as it unfolded up through its final furious partisan fight in the state Senate.

We do have a 100% federally funded EB, approved for a limited time by the legislature, because they voted to upgrade the criteria to using the "TUR" average rate instead of the "IUR" rate, a move encouraged by the ARRA bill and NELP in order to get more funds to the unemployed. Prior to April 29 we could only count the IUR, which would never have qualified us for extended benefits.

But there were TWO pots of money. The second pot is the one you are referring to, and the one they turned down. That one would have added another approx . $450 million to the $800 million that the legislature accepted. There were no strings attached to the larger pot for EB, other than changing to the TUR calculation for qualification, which was based on an old law from 1970 originally.

Many states changed their laws in a similar manner this year in order to take advantage of the ARRA provisions for 100% temporary funding. The smaller pot of money that was turned down had other strings attached; the state had its choice of several items it could easily have chosen, such as provisions for part-time workers, or other ways to expand the benefits pool, but the Republicans thought it would obligate them too much in the future. They did increase the employer taxes as you mentioned--the original main reason for SB 810--but that was to fortify the unemployment trust fund further to insure that they wouldn't have to penalize businesses even more by law if the fund dipped below a certain amount.

So right now our EB and our EUC are equivalent in terms of funding--100% federal, but it's almost a moot point now, since the EB funding has not been extended into 2010, and the Florida law has a similar expiration.

bittybear Mon Nov 09, 2009 3:32 pm

Wow, you do a great job of explaining things!

Yes, they did take the one pot of money by changing to the TUR figure, and forgo the other, because they were afraid they wouldn't ever be able to undo it...

The TUR figure is the one that was changed from 6.5% to 6% in the new legislation? And this triggers the state as being in an "extended benefit period"? Then the state will have to step up to the plate?

It's so frustrating, because they only want to proceed in small time frames, so that they aren't committed to benefits that may not be necessary in the future (ha ha, that ain't gonna happen), and then they get a bunch of free loaders.

My husbands is almost retirement age, so retraining for new technological jobs is not really an option. And I've had to take a part time fast food job, which is not what I was laid off from. (Hey, at least it's local and it cuts down on transportation expenses. I know I'm very lucky to have a job at all.)

Bittybear

bittybear Mon Nov 09, 2009 7:33 pm

I found a really great article from NELP's site that I printed way back in April.

It specifies that emergency benefits are a temporary program, and that extended benefits are a permanent program.

Which says to me that if they have lowered the threshold for a state to be in a designated "extended benefit period", the great State of Florida will have to come up with more extensions. They take forever to do anything.

The sad part is, all of the delays and wrangling are political posturing. The feds waved the funding carrot in front of the states only if they agreed to change certain permanent aspect of UEC law. Which is all well and good for further down the road, but it doesn't help pay the bills now.

And to top all of this, we're simply trying to make it to Social Security age. Try retirement planning when you dont' even know when your income will stop and when you need to file.

Bittybear

**Unemployed In Orlando** Mon Nov 09, 2009 10:12 pm

bittybear wrote:Wow, you do a great job of explaining things!

I love Nancy!! I love you

**nancym** Tue Nov 10, 2009 12:08 am

Unemployed In Orlando wrote:
bittybear wrote:Wow, you do a great job of explaining things!

I love Nancy!!

HA-HA-HA! Yes, but UIO, sometimes I feel like a nurse in the Crimean War on this forum--too many casualties, too few supplies...
lol!

**nancym** Tue Nov 10, 2009 12:28 am

bittybear wrote:

The TUR figure is the one that was changed from 6.5% to 6% in the new legislation? [Yes, for Tier 3.] And this triggers the state as being in an "extended benefit period"? [Yes.] Then the state will have to step up to the plate?
...
It's so frustrating, because they only want to proceed in small time frames, so that they aren't committed to benefits that may not be necessary in the future (ha ha, that ain't gonna happen), and then they get a bunch of free loaders...

Bittybear

I hear ya, bittybear. Some long term planning might be in order to deal with the long term unemployed!

As for EB vs. EUC, as if to deliberately confuse everyone further (although I kinda see why they did it that way), this new law uses the EB calculation for TUR as the basis for a state qualifiying for benefits! They wanted a scale for medium to high unemployment, and the TUR (Total Unemployment Rate on a 3-month average) provision of the state laws provided that figure without the restrictions of the EB law. So the figures in the charts we've all been using to track the TUR for our state EB trigger at http://atlas.doleta.gov/unemploy/claims_arch.asp are now the same as the ones in the EUC trigger dates that the DOL just posted in a new EUC trigger chart. Shows how only a very few states will have no Tier 3 as it stands right now.

The EB law was originally from 1970, a 50-50 deal for the states and the feds, optional for the states. The only reason we had EB was because the ARRA bill gave that 100% temporary funding. I think almost everyone now agrees that Congress should have just done one big EUC to begin with and avoided the whole fight with the states!

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