LARGO, Fla. — You're not just a claim number.
You're someone who was counting on the Department of Economic Opportunity to get you cash fast so you could fill the void left by unemployment due to the coronavirus.
There are thousands still out there waiting for money, and that's why some local representatives are working to get people paid quicker.
Kathy Moscato, a hairdresser from Largo wasn't prepared for this. She never thought she would be without work.
"We were two months with no income, no help and I had just moved into a place back on my own again after being at my daughter's for two years because I had cancer surgery," said Moscato.
After getting nowhere with Florida's unemployment website, she reached out to State Rep. Wengay Newton, who represents parts of Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee, and Sarasota counties.
His staff was able to move the process along.
Moscato choked back tears saying, "I think it was good because we had someone take our information straight directly to the front line."
Rep. Newton has been sending out a weekly newsletter directing people to contact his office if they're having problems collecting unemployment benefits.
State Senator Jose Javier Rodriguez, a democrat from Miami is urging people to stay persistent.
"Please don’t give up. That’s money that frankly employers have paid into the tax system here to benefit you if you were unemployed through no fault of your own," he said.
"We don’t want Florida’s numbers to look artificially good because the system was so bad people just gave up and walked away," added Rodriguez.
Lawmakers across the state are taking names to the DEO in hopes of getting people money faster, but both Newton and Rodriguez admit sometimes you just get lucky by getting the right person on the phone at the right time.
"It's very frustrating quite frankly that our constituents have to rely on us and have to rely on luck because we're relying on luck if we can get the right person on the phone, right time, and they're in the right mood, we can get things fixed," said Rodriguez.
A spokesperson with the Florida Dept. of Agriculture & Consumer Services sent 10 Tampa Bay an e-mail that said:
Commissioner Fried shares the frustrations of the thousands of hardworking Floridians who have been failed by the state’s unemployment system. That’s why she has called for an investigation into the mismanagement of the system and why reports of problems were ignored.
She encourages unemployed Floridians who have not yet received their payments to communicate with our office, as well their state representatives and senators and ask them to advocate on their behalf, continuing to raise their cases to DEO.
Many lawmakers are advising people to document everything including who you talked to and when and save records and e-mails along the way. The paper trail might be necessary to prove what you're owed.
A spokesperson with the DEO sent us this e-mail:
DEO recognizes that Floridians have had a hard time applying for Reemployment Assistance due to no fault of their own. If a claimant would like to request to modify their claim filing effective date, they should visit www.FloridaJobs.org and select the link “Request to Modify Claim (Application) Filing Effective Date.”
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