TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) issued reemployment assistance updates on the Reemployment Assistance (RA) Claims Dashboard. As of April 24, DEO has verified 785,340 unique claims and paid 166,804 claimants a total of more than $192 million.

NEW UPDATES:

· CONNECT will be processing payments throughout the weekend and will be available again Monday, April 27 at 8:00 a.m. This schedule does not affect individuals that wish to file a new claim. Individuals can file a new claim 24 hours a day, seven days per week at www.FloridaJobs.org/RAApplication.

ADDITIONAL UPDATES:

· The Federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program provides unemployment benefits to those that may not otherwise be eligible under Florida’s state Reemployment Assistance program, including independent contractors and individuals who are self-employed. Unemployed Floridians who have not yet completed an application for any benefit can apply at www.FloridaJobs.org/RAApplication and will be considered for all existing programs, including PUA.

· Governor DeSantis continues to eliminate unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles to ensure claims are processed and paid as quickly as possible. On an emergency basis, Governor DeSantis suspended the requirement that recipients submit a report every two weeks regarding their job search and ability to work in order to keep receiving benefits. The Governor’s Administration also suspended the one-week waiting period that required claimants to wait seven days before they could receive reemployment assistance.

HOW TO APPLY:

DEO has a mobile-friendly online application for individuals filing a new Reemployment Assistance claim available here. For a step by step guide on how to apply read more here. For the Reemployment Assistance Resource Guide which includes frequently asked questions, please click here. For additional information about Reemployment Assistance benefits visit www.FloridaJobs.org/COVID-19.

About DEO

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity combines the state’s economic, workforce and community development efforts, expediting economic development projects to fuel job creation in competitive communities and promote economic resiliency. For more information, including valuable resources for employers and job seekers, please visit www.FloridaJobs.org.

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