Unemployment Appeals

I do have to say that all of your replies make me feel a lot better about what happened. I apologize for not logging on sooner, but I have been trying to enjoy some of this time off. I had read somewhere that depression increases when you keep thinking about the issue in front of you, so I try to not let this over take my entire day.

Again thanks Gonzo, and friends, for the information and comments. And to tell you the truth, the stuff I wrote is so miniscule and vague as to what really happened. But like I wrote before, I need to keep this narrowed down to the unemployment issue. I will defintely let you know when I get my next hearing notice, and what happens. I also have one other bonus, and I recommend everyone to try this for a while, I never lied at work. I didn't lie when they asked about my girlfriend, and I didn't lie when I got fired, and I am not lying now. The most powerful thing to do when litigation is not to lie, and thus you should never lose. Lie's cover lie's cover lie's, one exposed, exposes the liar. Yes I got fired by a liar, and right now it seems like I am screwed, however I have a feeling that things will go my way. I am one of the few lucky ones that has a field of expertise that is in demand, for that I am grateful, for those not as lucky I feel for you.

Nancym - thanks, that is the norm as you described. Even in Volusia County, the CJIS (Criminal Justice Information System) admin password is held by only TWO people. There is a reason for that. I have a feeling that when the multiple violations of the Sunshine Act and Florida Statutes (especially the new ones I tried to tell them about) my ex-boss will finally realize exactly what he did, and he should have never fired me.

Gonzo - Ha Ha, you're right. I know some doctors and talked to them last week. That's what they do, say the employee quit, fight the appeal, and hope the ex-employee quits. FYI - for real, I said "you know you're lying right?"

My main goal is just to win the appeal, which I am sure they will appeal to the commission. Once AWI agrees that I did not quit, I want to use that as a stepping stone to a lawsuit followed by publicly proving and showing us the people what our tax payer dollars are doing for this State Agency.

So I guess I should ask now if it is OK to make a statement about this message board publicly, or do you just want it to be the cozy little place it is? Admin?

Thanks again for everything, and will keep you updated in this snail-like process, which apparently I am behind the snail stuck in the slime. EEwwwww!!

expd7IT

Its ok to mention the site, Jim Stratton of the Orlando Sentinel, has even published us in an article

We are a place were people can come to get information that they might not receive "elsewhere".

Hello~

I had a hearing this morning 8/13/10 with unemployment compensation and one of my employers. I filed for unemployment on 6/20/10 and was denied benefits because one employer stated that I was still employed and the other stated that I quit without good reason (not attributable to the employer). Okay here's a little light on the situation. I injured myself at work on my full time job and was out for a couple of months. While I was out on workers comp, my per diem job kept calling me wanting me to come in to work. I informed them numerous of times that I was out on workers comp from my full time job and the doctor had not given me the ok to return to full working status. After speaking with my supervisor at my per diem job, I was advised by her to put in my 2 weeks notice as she could no longer hold my position open, so I did as of March 2010. Now my doctor released me to return to work with no restrictions as of May 2010, and between May and July I couldn't get a direct answer from my manager at my full time job as to whether I could return to work therefor I filed for unemployment because my job status was unknown (full time part time per diem). So today in the hearing my per diem employer did not provide contact information leaving the referee to only hear my side and I informed her that I quit due to health reasons and that was myself being on workers comp from my full time job. Now when the hearing was held 30 minutes later with my full time job, my manager was available for the hearing. She really tried to put me under the bus by saying that I was "still employed" although I am currently on a per diem status. So the referee asked her had I received any hours since June 20th and she stated only .67 hours for a mandatory 30 minute meeting. My manager also went as far as telling unnecessary information as to myself going to school. The referee didn't even ask for that information, so I told her yes I was going to school and the referee asked my scheduled and if I was available for work and I told her 3 online classes and 1 Saturday class and yes I am and was available for work. Sorry for being so lengthy but I know that I probably will give myself an ulcer trying to wait over the weekend for an answer. my question is, do you think that I have a chance at winning this appeal? I kept checking the referee status online and the only thing it says is CLOSED (a determination has been mailed) next to the status and I did call the unemployment line to ask if I was still eligible for benefits if I was per diem and was going to school and their answer was "Yes" .

I'm trying to help my daughter, a student and part-time worker, collect back unemployment on an appeal that was won 7/27. She was on EUB at the time. She has been waiting almost a month to see a direct deposit or a check in the mail. Nothing to date. She has been claiming weeks since April while her appeal was in the process as suggested by a AWI agent. We haven't called because in the past it has been impossible to get through. Also, not sure whether a call should go to the Appeals desk or the regular number. Any help on how my daughter should get this moving would be greatly appreciated!

To ustaipan~

I just wanted to let you know that I had just went through an appeal process, won the appeal date 8/16/10, I called the unemployment customer service # to see if they had the update and when will my payments be released, on 8/17/10 they informed me that they had not received the information from the appeals department and it could take up to 21 days. I check my information on fluidnow.com website about a hour ago (7pm) and the information blew my mind. It stated that a check was issued out today 8/20/10 for retro payments of 7 weeks. I just got off the phone with unemployment customer service to make sure that everything was in fact true on the website and the rep did confirm that I would be having the funds DD by next wednesday. I would continuously call the customer service department to see what may be the hold up. The number that I have been dialing is 800-204-2418. Good luck!!

I workde for a company for about 9 months. I am in the construction trade(sheet metal installer). When hired we discussed my hourly rate. After 90 days the company gives you a review mine was favorble. After about a week though they reduced my salary, stating they couldn't pay high salaries and still bid on jobs(salary wasn't that high). However i accepted this as in this economy there are no jobs.....AND THOSE IN THE POSITION TO SAY HEY OR NEY KNOW THIS..so I had to stay. Then a better position came along. More money, company truck, paid medical benefits, & company credit card. I asked the new company is this temporary or permanent. I was told we have at least four jobs lined up and are bidding on much more. Sounded like a great move for myself. I would be making two(2) times the amount at the new job then I was at the old one. So I gave my two weeks notice on a Monday, was sick on Tuesday(called in ) arrived to work on Wednesday and was let go. I had to sign a paper stating that I returned all company property, and the reason I was let go before my two(2) weeks was up was because I called in sick on Tuesday. I then asked for the a copy of this document which in turn I was told that it was not company policy to give copies. So I started my new job. They allowed me to start at least one week before I was to begin, since I told them that my previous employer let me go when I gave notice of my quitting. I worked for the new company for about 6 weeks and then was told that they have no more work. I then explained to the new company that I didn't quit my job which had work, to work with you guys for a month then be let go. So now I am unemloyed and filed for unemployment. The first company that I work for is denying my claim saying that I quit. Whic is true I did quit but for a better position and more pay but it did not work out. So now I have an appeals date 10/6/2010 (phone). Any advice on how to win. I live in Orlando Fla.

I'm not sure if anyone can assist me in this situation, I have contacted NELP, U.S. Dept of Labor, still no results - below is a copy of the e-mail I sent to Paul Sonn of NELP, he replied it is illegal what my employer is doing, however I cannot get through to Legal Aid, and due to my situation I have no money for an attorney.

I am experiencing a very difficult situation. I have been working for a
motel that originally started out on Feb 21, 2011 on a verbal agreement that I
would work part time for rent in lieu of salary, approx 20-25 hrs a week for a
room that rent's for $140.00 + Tax (12.5%)= $157.50 weekly. According to Volusia County dept of Revenue, residents are exempt after 6 months which was 5/1/11 .

That lasted approx 1-2 weeks, since that time I have worked a minimum of 40hrs, and at time's over 50 hrs in a week. I
have been threatened that If I do not work these hours I will be thrown out
and left homeless. On 5/5/11 I posted a question similar to this on a Attorney
legal advice forum. The answer given by a licensed attorney instructed me to
contact my local dept of labor, unfortunately the owner of this motel must
have friends in that office, as several complaints have been filed against her
for the motel and a night club she owns in the area, and NOTHING happened to
her, and the employee's lost their job's.
What can I do? The only proof of me working here that I have is I personally
started recording my hours on time cards, and several current and previous
guest's here at the motel have agreed to sign statements that they have seen
me working as many as 7 days a week. Yesterday I was told by the manager that
I will be thrown out if I don't finish painting the entire building this week,
and I may be thrown out anyway once the painting is finished.

Thank you in advance for any advice/help you have to offer.
Michael Safstrom

Hey Gonzo or Nancy, I just moved Michaels above post in here to try and see if someone can help. Can you please review and provide any input you may have? I am just not that familiar with these things Thanks so much for your help!

Is this the same Daytonaman (without the "1") who posted many times here earlier on?

Please see the Private Message I just sent.

Yeah he changed emails and started new account Nancy

daytonaman1 wrote:I'm not sure if anyone can assist me in this situation, I have contacted NELP, U.S. Dept of Labor, still no results - below is a copy of the e-mail I sent to Paul Sonn of NELP, he replied it is illegal what my employer is doing, however I cannot get through to Legal Aid, and due to my situation I have no money for an attorney.

I am experiencing a very difficult situation. I have been working for a
motel that originally started out on Feb 21, 2011 on a verbal agreement that I
would work part time for rent in lieu of salary, approx 20-25 hrs a week for a
room that rent's for $140.00 + Tax (12.5%)= $157.50 weekly. According to Volusia County dept of Revenue, residents are exempt after 6 months which was 5/1/11 .

That lasted approx 1-2 weeks, since that time I have worked a minimum of 40hrs, and at time's over 50 hrs in a week. I
have been threatened that If I do not work these hours I will be thrown out
and left homeless. On 5/5/11 I posted a question similar to this on a Attorney
legal advice forum. The answer given by a licensed attorney instructed me to
contact my local dept of labor, unfortunately the owner of this motel must
have friends in that office, as several complaints have been filed against her
for the motel and a night club she owns in the area, and NOTHING happened to
her, and the employee's lost their job's.
What can I do? The only proof of me working here that I have is I personally
started recording my hours on time cards, and several current and previous
guest's here at the motel have agreed to sign statements that they have seen
me working as many as 7 days a week. Yesterday I was told by the manager that
I will be thrown out if I don't finish painting the entire building this week,
and I may be thrown out anyway once the painting is finished.

Thank you in advance for any advice/help you have to offer.
Michael Safstrom

I also have several pictures of the work that I have done, and I have copies of the Paint permit application, and the permit itself that have my name and signature.
The city wanted this place shut down, seems as though that is not as big of an issue now, I have painted the property and cleaned up the landscaping.

Today I received a 3 day notice to vacate the premises.

This notice was given to me by the manager who claims that he does not work for the motel, he is just a liaison. I received the notice because I did not falsify information to the city of Daytona Beach Shores. This is completely out of control, any advice PLEASE?!?

daytonaman1 wrote:Today I received a 3 day notice to vacate the premises.

This notice was given to me by the manager who claims that he does not work for the motel, he is just a liaison. I received the notice because I did not falsify information to the city of Daytona Beach Shores. This is completely out of control, any advice PLEASE?!?

Does anyone know how to find out if a company is under investigation? I have contacted the DOL several times, as well as the Morgan Law firm. Still no response. I was told by a resident at the motel I was working at that after he left the premises one night, he was stopped by Federal Marshals and asked several questions about the motel.

Wow, what are labor laws in place for? Only the wealthy?
Jean, from the South Daytona office of the US DOL - Wage and hour division informed me that they will not assist. If the company that you work for brings in less than $500,000.00 annually or does not deal in interstate commerce they will not assist any employee.

That simply tells me that any American employee who is employed by a company that makes less than 1/2 million a year, will not receive any assistance from the DOL, or better put, any company can & will get away with not paying employee's if they make less than that amount.

What a great country!!!

daytonaman1 wrote:Wow, what are labor laws in place for? Only the wealthy?
Jean, from the South Daytona office of the US DOL - Wage and hour division informed me that they will not assist. If the company that you work for brings in less than $500,000.00 annually or does not deal in interstate commerce they will not assist any employee.

That simply tells me that any American employee who is employed by a company that makes less than 1/2 million a year, will not receive any assistance from the DOL, or better put, any company can & will get away with not paying employee's if they make less than that amount.

What a great country!!!

Sounds a little like a jurisdiction issue, with the feds not able to step over a line between state and federal. Normally, I'd say check with the Florida Dept of Labor, or the Florida Atty General, but in this Land of Rick Scott, in what is the least employee-friendly state in the union, that's probably a waste of time. But what about a private attorney, like e.g., this one, http://www.job-rights.com/index.html (not a recommendation, I just picked that one out of a Google), but I still think you should be able to get help from either Legal Aid or some pro-bono attorney somewhere. That one at the link claims they don't always charge an initial fee, or fees only on recovery, if it's a monetary suit.

Hi,

I had an appeal hearing yesterday morning. I was discharged for absenteeism. I had been out of work due to an illness for three days. When I told my employer I had a doctor's note and that I could return to work the next day, she replied that HR had to review my information before I could return to work. I was kept out of work an additional two days before I received a phone call in which my employer said HR had reviewed my doctor's note and she hoped I would return the next day. (I still have this message in my voice mail.) At that point, I feel that the absence was approved. I returned to work for an additional week before I was fired for absenteeism. My employer did not provide UC with contact information so they were not present at the hearing. The hearing was very quick. The referree asked me a few questions and then asked me if I had anything to add. He didn't guide me in any way and I am worried that maybe I didn't provide him with enough information??? I am making myself crazy worrying if I blew the hearing since that is your only chance to represent yourself or...was it quick since the employer did not answer the appeal?

I am just wondering if anyone has been through a similar situation. Do you think I have a chance of winning this appeal? Does anyone know how long it takes to get a determination? I checked the website and it said the hearing was held but there is no further information yet. Do they update the website before you receive a notice in the mail?

Thank you very much for any insight you can provide!

[quote="Glinda1"]Hi,

. My employer did not provide UC with contact information so they were not present at the hearing. The hearing was very quick. The referree asked me a few questions and then asked me if I had anything to add. He didn't guide me in any way and I am worried that maybe I didn't provide him with enough information??? I am making myself crazy worrying if I blew the hearing since that is your only chance to represent yourself or...was it quick since the employer did not answer the appeal?

I'm no expert on the subject, I read through the rules on AWI's site: Nonappearance:
60BB-5.017 Nonappearance of Parties.

(1) Except as provided in Rule 60BB-5.016, F.A.C. the appeals referee may, notwithstanding failure of a party to appear, proceed with the hearing.

(2) Failure of the appellant to appear at the hearing shall constitute grounds for dismissal of the appeal.

(3) Upon written request of the appellant or upon the referee’s own motion, the appeals referee shall for good cause rescind a dismissal decision and reopen the appeal. Upon written request of the appellee or upon the referee’s own motion, the appeals referee shall for good cause rescind a decision and reopen the appeal if the appellee did not appear at the last scheduled hearing and the referee has entered a decision adverse to the appellee. The appeals referee shall have the authority to reopen an appeal under this rule provided that the request has been filed or motion entered within 20 days of rendition of the decision.

(a) A threshold issue to be decided at the hearing held to consider reopening an appeal shall be whether there is a good cause for proceeding with an additional hearing. If good cause is found, the appeals referee shall proceed on the merits. If good cause is not found, the referee shall reinstate the decision. The referee shall have no further authority with respect to a reinstated decision; however, any party or other person entitled by law to do so may file an appeal of the reinstated decision in accordance with Chapters 60BB-6 and 60BB-7, F.A.C.

(b) Denial without hearing of a request to reopen an appeal shall be in writing. The requesting party may appeal the denial by filing an appeal with the Unemployment Appeals Commission in the manner set forth in Chapters 60BB-6 and 60BB-7, F.A.C.

Specific Authority 120.80(10)(a)1., 443.012(3), (11), 443.151(4)(d) FS. Law Implemented 443.151(4)(a), (b), (d) FS. History–New 5-22-80, Formerly 38E-5.17, Amended 8-20-86, 3-1-98, Formerly 38E-5.017.

All of the Rules and Guidelines are available here: http://www.floridajobs.org/unemployment/apprefrules.html

Hope this helps

Daytonaman

Just wanted to update. My decision was reversed. Thank you very much Daytonaman for the information. Now...I just have to wait for the check.

I filed a legitimate claim that was approved back in summer 2011. I was receiving benefits, no problem. Then I started work in late September at a sort of telemarketing company (as "management," receiving a weekly salary every Friday, 8:30-5 M-F) where I was their bookkeeper, working full-time at their office with their equipment, trained by and reporting to their CFO,, no hiring/firing power or ability to outsource the work to my personal underlings not working at the company. Promise of a stipend for health insurance after 3 months since they did not have a company plan "yet." Promised paid vacation and sick days as needed, but no written company handbook. NO WAY it was contract. I have tons of email, etc. to back up that I was a hired employee through the regular interview process, and they had no written contract with me stating otherwise.

I was fired after 3 weeks because I called in sick the third week with pink eye (which I certainly got there from someone on the endlessly rotating telemarketing staff, since I've never had it before and wasn't exactly socializing much while living off UC). My boss approved the days off--in fact, I offered to work from home since I didn't feel completely awful but mainly wanted to avoid infecting the office, and he agreed, giving me the company laptop to use at home. So FL AWI DID NOT deny the claim based on quitting rather than being fired; they agreed I wasn't let go due to misconduct. (Only when he fired me did he say that he would have paid for me to go to a doctor LOL. Somehow I apparently should have asked him to pay for that--I've never thought it appropriate to ask an employer for such a thing unless they REQUIRE you to go to prove your'e sick--and I had photos of my swollen eyes!)

I received one week of UC, then was sent a letter stating that since I had been a contract employee, I was not eligible for UC. (I assume they contacted the company and was told that, as I had once seen my boss angrily answer a phone call from someone trying to verify a claim saying "we don't have employees, only contractors" during my short tenure there.) After several phone calls jumping through their step-by-step claim hoops, I returned within 24 hours with the form they finally sent me mid-December making my claim that I was not a contractor. I was informed that the employer also had 2 weeks to reply and make their case. I don't know whether they did; the reps said they couldn't see that info, so only the adjudicator knows, and I have no way to call that person.

(FYI, I learned while working there that they were paying ALL employees as contractors to avoid employment taxes. Definite fraud, and I have the records to back it up. I told FL AWI this after all this started, and also contacted the IRS, but have heard nothing regarding an investigation. While working there I learned that the owner of the company has ties to NY/NJ/Pennsylvania mafia, no joke--yet they seem to not care to investigate.)

In spite of following up my faxing of the required documents with mailing them in as backup, I received a letter in January 2012 stating that since I had not responded, my claim was being denied, and I had 20 days to make an appeal. I called them, and discovered that apparently they'd screwed up and not put the proper fax number on the form (don't ask me what happened to the paperwork I mailed), so they gave me a new number which I happily faxed that day along with the original letter showing them that they had not previously given me the right number (I wonder how many others had claims denied because they received letters from the same batch without that fax number, and they didn't fight it!). I confirmed they had received my info a few days later. No movement on the claim. Contacted them in February, March, and again several times since. During the summer of 2012 I was contacted by an Ashley Monroe who was very nice and apologized for the delay on the claim; she has said she checks with the Dept of Revenue on a daily basis; as that is where things are held up since they are the ones who didn't receive UI payments from the employer for me (the employer obviously never reported me as an employee after hire).

This has now become a very time-sensitive matter as far as the financial impact on me. They've owed me over $3000 for a year now. Setting aside credit cards I've had to use while unemployed that I could pay down & reduce interest on if I were to receive my money now, by the end of 2011 I had to liquidate my 401k to make rent, not having received UC for 2 months. So they cost me that tax penalty already for early withdrawal from a retirement account. I also expect to be working full-time by the end of 2012, and will possibly be in a higher tax bracket (above $34,500) for 2013, so the last thing I want is to not receive my money until 2013 and have to pay 25% instead of 15% income tax on it--not to mention that I am only a part-year FL resident for 2012 (majority of the year), but in 2013 I will have to pay CO income tax as well!!

Unfortunately, I am no longer in FL, so I can't drive to someone's doorstep and camp out until it is resolved.

Help!! What do I do??

Moved to CO wrote:I filed a legitimate claim that was approved back in summer 2011. I was receiving benefits, no problem. Then I started work in late September at a sort of telemarketing company (as "management," receiving a weekly salary...

Help!! What do I do??

Moved, I'll try to sort out some of this for you, but understand that I am not an attorney, though I do have fairly extensive knowledge of how benefits work in Florida. Some of what I have to clarify may not be what you want to hear, and I understand the anger at your short-term employer in 2011.

First, the issue of whether your contract employer was committing fraud and the issue of whether you are eligible for benefits are two totally separate things, and I think you may have complicated your claim for benefits, hopefully not beyond repair, by entangling one with the other.

Employers, both in Florida and elsewhere, have been skirting the IRS rules on contract vs. W2 employment for many years, and there has been almost no enforcement from IRS, only occasional warnings. Those of us, like myself, who work a lot of freelance are very familiar with this kind of liberty taken by many employers, but it has become almost futile to object, and employers have made it almost common practice to just decide if they want to hire on contract or W2, regardless of what the working conditions and agreements are. Many larger corporations and especially institutions who are dependent on government funding are much more careful to follow the IRS rules, but small employers ignore them with no fear.

So what should have happened when you took that 3-week job last year was this: You were on benefits, then you went to work for 3 weeks. You were fired. No big deal as far as UI was concerned, because you didn't quit, didn't refuse work, in fact it showed you were really trying to work. Then you should have simply reported those three weeks of income to UI. They would have denied just that much of your benefit checks for that period and you could have just continued your former claim without more than possibly a brief delay for review of your account. I actually did that many times while on benefits myself when I found occasional little freelance projects. The extra income simply extended the money in my UI account so that I was eligible for a few more weeks at the end of my eligibility period.

The fact that you challenged that 3-week employer set your account into the appeal process, something that has been reported here on this site as sometimes a kind of black hole, especially with so many hired guns these days fighting for companies to oppose benefits. Your 3-week employer was correct to oppose your claim, as annoying as that sounds, because he never paid unemployment taxes to the state for your position. Any accusation you have of him committing fraud should be addressed to the state attorney's office or Florida regulators or the IRS, but that's a losing battle, and again, has seriously nothing to do with your claim.

You benefits are based SOLELY on work done as a W2 employee, and solely based on work done during a strictly defined period called your "benefit year." Contract work doesn't count in terms of any claims, disputes, or benefit amounts, no matter what. Your benefit year (described elsewhere in detail on this site) is counted backward from the day you apply for benefits and the state discounts the current fiscal quarter, AND the previous quarter, and then includes 12 months back from that. For example, if I applied now in December, the state would ignore the current quarter of Oct-Nov-Dec of this year. They would also ignore the previous quarter of July-Aug-Sept. They would then look at what your W2 employers have contributed into the state fund for the period of April last year through June of this year and make a calculation to determine how much you would get and for how many weeks. (Only taxes on employers, per employee, go into this fund; nothing comes out of your paycheck for this fund, though in a few states employees also contribute part of the tax.) They have no record of any contract or cash payments you have, and there is no way for you to add in contract work to your account yourself.

So without knowing when you worked and how many weeks you had left of benefits before you started working for that 3-week employer, I can't tell if you actually are owed any back benefits or not. Any benefits you might be owed would be based on your original claim that gave you benefits before you took that job. If you had no weeks left to claim, whether on regular benefits, state extended benefits, or federal EUC benefits, there would be no new claim possible based on that contract employer. If you were just finishing your regular benefits before that short job, you may have been eligible for state extended benefits at that time, but you would have had to make an application for those. Since currently (as far as I know, I'm not completely up to date on this right now) Florida is not honoring state extended benefits, and all EUC ends Dec 31 this year (unless there's new legislation), AND since you have a new claim from another job since all this happened, I'm not sure if you may have missed deadlines for applying to extend your original claim, or if they might not allow payments on dual claims. (I've seen a few really odd cases of someone with concurrent, legal, claims, but it was just too complicated to understand how it all happened.)

Yes, I know, it sucks. But first review your original claim and see if you can figure out just where you were in the sequence of benefits. Forget about any new claim based on that 3-week job, it's not possible. Your original claim would have continued if you had money left in that account for whatever number of weeks were left if you had not interrupted the process. If you were at the end of all benefits, including extended and EUC, I'm afraid you wouldn't be owed any back payments, and you'll have to just get what you currently get on your current new claim. If you think there was money left in your old account or you should have been eligible for extended benefits at that time, see if you can possibly get in touch with Ashley or someone else in Tallahassee (not the call center) and explain that you made a mistake by appealing your claim and see if you might still be eligible for back payments on that original claim. Sometimes it's possible to get through to the Tallahassee office by calling the governor's office and telling them you have a complaint about UI (now called the RE-employment service, ha-ha). There used to be an email address also, hard to find, on their website.

You're also up against the fact that I assume you were not allowed to report or list job contacts for that entire period of time after you started that appeal process. Whether they would let you backtrack to do that, I think might be doubtful. I helped a woman just recently who was claiming benefits but missed a claim period, even though she had records of her job contact efforts. She was homeless and had misunderstood the claim period deadlines. They wouldn't let her report those back records and she essentially lost those checks, although she did not lose any amount from her total remaining account; it just affected her immediate cash flow.

As for your extra taxes, depending on your age, you shouldn't have any penalty for a hardship withdrawal from your 401K. I did that same thing without penalty. (Check with your 401K people if unsure.) But if by penalty you just mean the extra income tax, yes, I also had that burden. If it comes to that, understand that you can put off the IRS longer than you might think if you simply talk to them (sometimes you have to get the right person, ask for a "specialist" if you don't get anywhere on the first call). You can ask for a hardship deferment if needed, or simply request delays of payment. You might be surprised how helpful many of them can be, as long as you keep them updated of your situation. They've had to deal with millions in recent years who couldn't pay their taxes on time; it's not new or unusual to them now.

Good luck with all that. It may not be completely hopeless, but I would brace yourself for the fact that, unfortunately, you may never be able to reclaim that lost time and have to just move forward with your present claim and hopefully find more work this year. They would never give you that money without your job search info, and even if you kept all those records, they may not be able to technically make an exception for something that far back.

You were fired. No big deal as far as UI was concerned, because you didn't quit, didn't refuse work, in fact it showed you were really trying to work. Then you should have simply reported those three weeks of income to UI. They would have denied just that much of your benefit checks for that period and you could have just continued your former claim without more than possibly a brief delay for review of your account. I actually did that many times while on benefits myself when I found occasional little freelance projects. The extra income simply extended the money in my UI account so that I was eligible for a few more weeks at the end of my eligibility period.
...The fact that you challenged that 3-week employer set your account into the appeal process, something that has been reported here on this site as sometimes a kind of black hole, especially with so many hired guns these days fighting for companies to oppose benefits. Your 3-week employer was correct to oppose your claim, as annoying as that sounds, because he never paid unemployment taxes to the state for your position.

Yes, but I was definitely an employee (federal law is fairly solid about this--I wasn't a borderline case); didn't "challenge" anything from that employer, just reported my income to the DEO rep. Yes, they would not have paid UI on me yet over a 3 week period of employment, and of course, there would be no new claim (I was never trying to file a new claim), but I was only trying to get back to receiving benefits from my prior claim. I made no error there. Problem was, since they FAILED TO REPORT ME AS AN EMPLOYEE (FL employers have I believe only 10 or 20 days to do so), the state reclassified me as an independent contractor and therefore claimed I would no longer be entitled to benefits since I just had a contract "end." Additionally, that would mean paying self-employment taxes, etc., and that was not the payment for which I negotiated upon hire. Of course in hindsight maybe that would have been better, but who knew? And yes there was plenty left in my account for me to continue receiving benefits.

-->UPDATE AS OF DECEMBER 2012: After 11 months, the FL Department of Revenue finally finished their investigation (after I repeatedly contacted my adjudicator to keep them/her on the ball), and I received my $3300 14 months after my claim went into deferment due to that employer's fraudulent claim that I was a contractor. Fortunately (depending how you look at it LOL) since I've been unemployed the latter portion of 2012 as well, I won't be bumped up a bracket to where I'd be paying a higher tax rate on that $3300. I can only hope they are now going to look into all the other shafted "contract" employees at that company and put the screws to the a-hole owners.

You're also up against the fact that I assume you were not allowed to report or list job contacts for that entire period of time after you started that appeal process. Whether they would let you backtrack to do that, I think might be doubtful.

Nope, I continued to report online every two weeks, as it was a continuing prior claim. My payments were just in deferment until they resolved the discrepancy.

As for your extra taxes, depending on your age, you shouldn't have any penalty for a hardship withdrawal from your 401K.

I don't think this was a possibility. I was no longer employed at that company where the 401k was from, so I had to do a withdrawal/rollover to an IRA savings account (made sense to pay the taxes on it in 2011 when I was at the lowest tax rate from half a year of unemployment). I am way to young to get any other type of 10% penalty waiver.

Ironically, a week after I finally received my $3300, I received notice that my 2012 claim is now in deferment because my employer from January to August of 2012 reported me as working for them again on 11/28!! Not sure where this error originated...probably with the payroll service (Paychex or ADP) that they were using; possibly even when they switched from one to the other. Upshot is they probably cost me another $82.50 in taxes for 2013, because I sent back their stupid little form clarifying my employment dates immediately, but since that was late December and around the holidays, it took them a couple days to verify with the employer & fix, and I didn't get my money until the next tax year--by about 2 days!! So now if an interview I have tomorrow pans out and I work full-time all year, I could easily cross the $35k AGI line with the extra $825 unemployment that was pushed into 2013 and have to pay 25% on it instead of 15%! Additionally, I think I'll owe an extra 2% on SS tax since the tax break on that ended 1/1/13.

Basically, I can count at least 5 distinct sources of error between employers (2) and the DEO (4+). I've done nothing wrong the entire time, followed their instructions to a T. Their finally paying up proves it.

FL SUCKS FOR NEVER GIVING THE EMPLOYEE, WHO HAS NOTHING ELSE TO LIVE ON, THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT WHEN A CLAIM IS IN DISPUTE! If I'm lying, then throw me in jail later on when you figure it out! Don't force me to go homeless when I've done everything by the book!!

The IRS, fortunately, DOES give you the benefit of the doubt. I sent in my SS-8 the same day I filed my 2011 tax return, and they just sent me a letter now stating that they received everything, but it could take 9 months to resolve, yet they didn't force me to pay the extra self-employment taxes and gave me my full refund. So at least I'm not out that money in the meantime...