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A coastal flood advisory in effect for Coastal Volusia Region

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WEATHER ALERT

A coastal flood advisory in effect for Coastal Volusia Region

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DEO


Assistant for Alzheimer’s patient finally cleared for 33 weeks in back unemployment benefits

After more than two years of waiting for 36 weeks of state and federal unemployment benefits, worth more than $14,000, an unemployed DeLand woman is one step closer to collecting her cash.

DEO says 1099-G tax forms are in the mail!

This is the latest edition of the Make Ends Meet newsletter.

Florida homeowners still waiting for COVID-19 relief funds

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — More than a year after President Joe Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan and more than two months after the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity opened its portal for pre-applications, Florida homeowners impacted by COVID-19, Florida homeowners are still waiting. As part of the ARP, the state has $670 million for homeowners who can show financial hardship due to COVID-19. “I wish I could say how much longer I’ll be waiting, but I just don’t know,” said homeowner Scott Silver. READ: Florida’s homeowner’s insurance market continues to spiral with 9 companies in liquidationOn Feb. 28, the DEO launched its registration portal for prospective applicants to the Homeowner Assistance Fund. That same day Scott registered; he’s still waiting.

wftv.com

Robocalls flooding phonelines, social media with bogus job offers

The scammers are back on the robocall circuit and according to the Federal Trade Commission, 2.8 million people lost an estimated $5.2 billion dollars to conmen in 2021 alone.

Flagler County man learns imposter was stealing his unemployment benefits

Tom O’Rourke, a 65-year-old from Palm Coast, lost his job and discovered someone else had already been collecting unemployment benefits under his name before News 6 stepped in to help.

Florida woman struggles to get dead husband’s tax form from DEO

When Kathleen Masters’ husband Ron died from complications linked to COVID-19, she never imagined the state’s unemployment security system would block the release of his 1099-G tax form.

Florida sexual assault loophole likely to go unchanged this session

The fight to change Florida’s sexual assault law appears to be destined to fade away this legislative session, leaving a potential loophole for anyone accused of raping someone incapacitated by drugs or alcohol.

Part-time job leaves Tampa man stuck in DEO return-to-work ‘nightmare’

An unemployed Tampa travel nurse recruiter has been blocked from state unemployment benefits after working 25 hours as a customer service phone representative.

Volusia grandmother: DEO says it could take 10 years to return my stolen jobless money

Anna Marie Blair called News 6 and the Make Ends Meet team after getting that unexpected response from the DEO last week.

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Maitland company targeted in state unemployment claims scheme

The latest version of unemployment fraud showed up in the files of a Central Florida commercial real estate company as 18 people filed claims for a company they never worked for.

71-year-old Florida woman loses $4K to job imposters

In October, Baker landed what she thought was the perfect at home job offer but it turned out to be a scheme she has seen dozens of times since.

Cancer survivor gets Florida unemployment overpayment bill worth $16,000

Sylvia Intelisano, 74, of Palm County, Florida said she will never forget the overpayment notice she received from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.

Florida mom loses $3,000 in jobless benefits after DEO mistake

With an open space where the kitchen stove used to be, a broken-down refrigerator and a bank overdraft of nearly $500, Nedda Ryan had run out of financial options because of a mistake by the Department of Economic Opportunity.

‘We have to get workers skilled up,’ US Labor Secretary Walsh tells News 6

The Department of Labor is planning to develop job training and workforce programs to address the specific needs of cities coast to coast, U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh told News 6.

78-year-old real estate broker waiting 18 months for unemployment benefits turns to News 6

John “Jack” Sullivan never thought he would be collecting unemployment benefits at this stage of his life, but at 78 years old, the retired sales manager not only needed benefits, but was “stuck” waiting for those benefits since August 2020.

Father of 2 receives $7,000 in jobless benefits thanks to News 6

The South Florida real estate appraiser and father of two said COVID-19 created a void that forced him to turn to part-time work to make ends meet.

Volusia County teacher says unemployment benefits rerouted by imposter

A veteran Volusia County Schools paraprofessional recently discovered her Department of Economic Opportunity account had been hacked by an imposter.

Gainesville woman says DEO stopped her benefits for mystery jobs

Beverly Jerome and her husband have been caught in a state unemployment “return to work” issue dating back to Sept. 22, 2020.

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Pompano Beach grandmother has been waiting 5 months for unemployment benefits

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity is on pace to pay back benefits for every remaining unemployment week by early 2022, according to new data released by the DEO to WKMG-TV.

‘Make Ends Meet’ behind-the-scenes, recovering about $2 million in benefits

We're taking you behind-the-scenes of Make Ends Meet. The segment initially started as something different before exposing the DEO's broken unemployment system.

Mother of 4 says Make Ends Meet ended 7-month wait for DEO benefits

Sara Marie, of Fort Myers, is one of thousands of Florida residents tired of waiting for unpaid unemployment benefits, wondering if they will ever get paid.

Make Ends Meet helps single mom again to access $600 in unemployment benefits

The mother of two faced another system glitch that locked her DEO account in July, blocking an estimated seven weeks, $1,200, in back-benefits.

DEO issues $17K in back benefits to residents waiting 6 months for funds

A single mother of three and a man have been living the same Department of Economic Opportunity benefits delay for the last 6 months.

9 Invesitgates DEO overpayment obstacles

From mid-March to May 2020, the DEO was automatically requesting payments for people. “All I drew (for unemployment) was about six weeks,” Watwood said. They’re among those dealing with the latest round of overpayment notices from DEO. Read: City of Winter Park hosting job fair to fill 50 open positions“Navigating this has been one of the newest crises of the unemployment system,” State Rep. Anna Eskamani said. “While the system automatically processed your Reemployment Assistance benefits, claimants will now need to recertify these weeks in the system.

wftv.com

Alert issued for missing 1-year-old boy last seen in Marion County

A missing 1-year-old boy last seen in Marion County on Tuesday may be with two adults heading to Illinois, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.

Tropics Tracker: Shhhh, the Atlantic is sleeping

Hurricane season is slow and may close up shop early, and that’s a good thing!

Festivals galore on Saturday around Central Florida

A wide range of outdoor festivals are popping up across our area on Saturday.

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Titusville waitress loses lotto winnings to DEO ‘overpayment’

Instead of a check for $1,000, a Titusville waitress received a check for $175 with an explanation that the missing funds were directed to the DEO because of an unemployment benefits overpayment.

Veteran audio engineer waits 6 months for unemployment benefits

A local audio engineer and his family are out of sync after trying to acquire his “expired” benefits from the Department of Economic Opportunity for the past six months.

Widow of Orange County firefighter denied cancer death benefit

When Orange County Fire Rescue veteran Erik Siena lost his 5-month battle with brain cancer this past May, his wife Cristy filed for the death benefit provided under Florida Senate Bill 426.

Reports of ID.me duplicate accounts increasing in Florida

ID.me, the company hired to verify the identification of Florida unemployment account holders has launched a full-court press to stop cybercriminals employing social engineering to steal the personal information of claimants applying for unemployment assistance.

Some Floridians who claimed unemployment receiving bills for ‘overpayment’

ORLANDO, FLA. — After 18 months of people reporting problems receiving payments from the state’s unemployment system, now many are receiving bills; the Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) says those claimants were overpaid. “All I drew [for unemployment] was about six weeks,” Watwood said. Neither of them have thought about Florida’s unemployment system since they stopped collecting benefits more than a year ago, until they received bills from the DEO. “Navigating this has been one of the newest crises of the unemployment system,” state Rep. Anna Eskamani said. Although the system has automatically processed re-employment assistance benefits, claimants will now need to recertify these weeks in the system.

wftv.com

Forget your old PIN 🏦

Good morning, it’s Mike Holfeld with the latest edition of Make Ends Meet.

Volusia County schools reopening online learning application Friday

Volusia County schools is reopening its online learning application for students Friday morning.

DEO beefing up security for Florida unemployment accounts

An ambitious security protocol launched by the Department of Economic Opportunity is aimed to help protect claimants in Florida.

Orlando businesswoman waits more than a year for unemployment claimant number

Stephanie Lindgren had been waiting since April of last year to get a claimant ID number issued by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity so she could collect state and federal unemployment benefits of more than $30,000.

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Unemployment hijackers target Florida widower’s jobless benefits

A Port St. Lucie man’s five-month battle to recoup more than $11,000 in state and federal unemployment benefits may finally be resolved this week, thanks to the Department of Economic Opportunity and News 6.

Florida Department of Economic Opportunity PIN reset fixes one problem but new issue arises

The now infamous DEO PIN reset debacle was successfully addressed and updated this week; however, the software remedy saw thousands of people still unable to apply for weekly benefits because their state unemployment accounts were locked and, in some cases, their identifications needed to be verified again.

Read, set, PIN reset! Florida DEO launches email updates for claimants

The Department of Economic Opportunity starts the first wave of PIN reset instructions to claimants stuck in the PIN reset loop.

Thousands of Florida unemployment accounts blocked by DEO security measure

Thousands of state unemployment accounts were locked without warning this week in a move to counter a potential data breach.

Florida woman’s unemployment account locked after cyber thief gets away with benefits

A leasing agent handling properties near the UCF campus has been waiting three months to collect unemployment benefits after a cyber thief collected state benefits in her name while she was still working.

Nearly 58,000 unemployment accounts in Florida targeted by cyber thieves

The Department of Economic Opportunity says there was a data security incident involving potentially fraudulent activity connected to claimant accounts within the Reemployment Assistance Claims and Benefits Information System, commonly known as CONNECT.

Temporary job at pet clinic blocks Miami woman’s unemployment benefits

Anna Maria Brown’s unemployment benefits have been stuck in “pending status” because a five-day job with a Miami pet clinic last October triggered a returned to work status from the Department of Economic Opportunity.

Surgery leaves Rollins College employee without work or unemployment benefits

Kelly Salter’s decision to undergo knee replacement surgery was supposed to coincide with a scheduled layoff from her kitchen supervisor job at Rollins College.

Florida couple receives $14,000 in unemployment benefits 42 days after contacting News 6

Lisa and David Fontana never imagined they would be dependent on state unemployment benefits when they moved to the Orlando area from Chicago in 2020.

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‘Double dipping’ mistake leaves unemployed couple without benefits for more than 22 weeks

The couple told News 6 there were no problems with their DEO accounts until they “recertified.”

Florida graduate’s missing unemployment check worth over $4,000 reissued 1 year later by DEO

A Florida graduate was convinced his missing federal benefits check worth more than $4,000 dollars would never be found after it had been processed but unaccounted for since June 9, 2020.

News 6 investigation revealed ID.me impostors are targeting Florida’s unemployed

News 6 has uncovered a plot to steal personal information from residents who are trying to obtain state unemployment benefits.

Florida announces end to federally funded boost to unemployment benefits

On Monday, Florida's Department of Economic Opportunity announced the state will be withdrawing from the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation Program.

Woman says unemployment benefits delayed a year because of mystery employer

Tamika Nixon is convinced she is a victim of inaccurate business records.

Struggling Orlando barber finally receives $7,000 in unemployment benefits

Francisco Mojica admits he never would have survived the past four months without the financial help of his mother because he had no access to state or federal unemployment benefits.

2-year-old unemployment claim disqualifies Disney cast member for 5 months

Navarro had been fighting to get access to thousands of dollars in state and federal benefits since November 2020.

‘I have not gotten one payment:’ Single mom waiting 6 months for unemployment benefits

A single mom facing divorce and mounting bills is in the middle of six-month stalemate with the Department of Economic Opportunity to receive $6,700 in back unemployment benefits. Jada Jordan, a physical therapist assistant, told News 6 she lost her job in July 2020 but was deemed ineligible for unemployment benefits until October 2020 because her salary did not meet the minimum earned in the previous quarter. “I have not gotten one payment,” a frustrated Jordan said. Even though her DEO account status shows it is active-eligible, Jordan has never received the benefits to which she is entitled. News 6 presented Jordan’s unemployment documents to the DEO office in Tallahassee this week.

Florida opens statewide COVID-19 vaccination pre-registration site

click to enlarge Myvaccine.fl.gov interfaceThe state of Florida has gone live with a website for Floridians to "pre-register" to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. We can only hope it functions better than the DEO virtual waiting room to register for unemployment benefits.The site, myvaccine.fl.gov , aims to offer a central online hub where residents can get in the queue to receive the vaccine in their home counties.Once you have used the site to pre-register, you will be contacted by phone or email when vaccination appointment slots become available in your county.Currently there are only four categories of the Florida populace eligible for vaccination: Florida residents 65 or more years of age; long-term care facility residents and staff; healthcare personnel with direct patient contact; and individuals deemed especially vulnerable to COVID-19.Those who don't meet any of those criteria may sign up through that same website to receive email updates on changes in eligibility requirements.

orlandoweekly.com

If you are filing for unemployment in Florida, use this website

click to enlarge Screenshot via DEO websiteOver the past couple weeks, Floridas unemployment claims have skyrocketed and the $7.7 million website meant to handle it all has been a catastrophic failure.However, yesterday the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity debuted a new mobile-friendly site that, so far, seems to actually work.The new site can be found here: www.FloridaJobs.org/RAApplication On Wednesday, the state of Florida also rolled out a new mobile-friendly coronavirus page, which can be found at: www.FloridaJobs.org/COVID-19 . The new site features links to the new job site, as well as info about paper applications.According to the site, before applying be sure to have the following: Social Security number Drivers License or State ID number Your employment for the last 18 months including for each employerAdditionally, if you are one of the following, make sure you have this additional information available: Not a US Citizen: Alien Registration Number or other work authorization form Military Employee: DD-214 Member 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 may be used Federal Employee: SF 8 or SF 50 Union Member: Union Name, Hall Number, and Phone Number

orlandoweekly.com
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