Crist signs executive order to fix Florida unemployment extension (Updated)

Thank u! Thank u! Thank u! We would have been living in the car of not for this so thank u!

Thank u so much! How long do we have to wait now? Please tell me not till Sept. Please tell me In a week.

YES! According to the update in AWI, it should take about two weeks. OMG — at least something is coming. I can tell my landlord and car finance people the money is on the way. THANK YOU GOV CRIST! You have my vote in November.

Good news for about 100,000 long-term jobless in Florida and potentially 150,000 more: They'll be able to join the rest of the country in receiving the extended unemployment benefits passed by Congress this week.
Gov. Charlie Crist on Friday issued an executive order that effectively allows unemployed Floridians who have exhausted 79 weeks of unemployment benefits to be eligible for up to 20 more weeks under the federal Extended Benefits program.
Because of an earlier deadline set by the state Legislature — that Floridians had to be eligible for Extended Benefits by June 5 to qualify — that group was at risk of being frozen out of the reinstatement.
The Legislature did not address the unemployment deadline issue during its special session this week and is not scheduled to come back for its regular session until September. Crist said that was too long for those relying on weekly payments to wait.
“Unemployed Floridians are struggling in this challenging economic climate, trying to figure out how to pay their bills and support their families …,” Crist said in a statement. “I am committed to exercising my constitutional duty to authorize the use of available federal funds to help out-of-work Floridians who qualify for this help.”
Republicans in Congress and in the Florida Legislature had opposed continuing the extended unemployment benefits without identifying budget cuts to pay for it. Moreover, there was discussion in Tallahassee about whether Crist could act without legislative approval.
But Crist spokesman Sterling Ivey said after reviewing the federal bill and talking with the U.S. Department of Labor, the governor felt he had authority to issue the executive order.
During a monthslong, political deadlock in Congress, about 35,000 Floridians a week were falling off unemployment because they couldn't advance to the next benefit level, or tier. The total affected since the deadlock began was about 250,000 people in Florida and roughly 2.5 million nationally.
Only about 8,100 people a week in Florida were exhausting their 79th week of emergency benefits and could not qualify for the 20-week Extended Benefit coverage after that.
Several erroneous reports this week indicated that action by the state Legislature or Crist was needed for all 250,000 Floridians who have lost coverage to be reinstated or be paid retroactively for missed weeks. But the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation, which oversees unemployment, said the only ones who required state action to be reinstated were those in the final 20-week stage or about to enter it.
About 47,000 people had a pending Extended Benefit balance when the extension expired June 5. Another 56,714 people have exhausted 79 weeks over coverage since June 5 and needed state action to advance into Extended Benefits.
As with other Floridians being reinstated because of congressional action this week, some of them will receive lump sum payments, depending upon the status of their claims.
Under the new federal guidelines, Floridians who qualify for Extended Benefits could resume receiving those benefits through Dec. 4. According to AWI, that means up to 250,000 long-term unemployed Floridians will benefit from the extension.
The new federal law also extends the deadline for establishing eligibility in the federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program by about six months and extends the phase-out date for the program to April 30, 2011. The EUC is for people collecting benefits between 26 and 79 weeks. That will provide immediate assistance to nearly 900,000 Floridians, AWI estimated.
“We anticipate that, within two weeks of receiving guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor, Floridians will be able to certify for these benefits and we will begin issuing payments,” AWI Director Cynthia Lorenzo said.
Beneficiaries who are potentially eligible for either federal emergency benefits or the Extended Benefits program will be notified by mail, AWI said. Those who believe they may be eligible may begin certifying for benefits within the next two weeks at http://www.floridajobs.org or by calling (800) 204-2418.

Gov. Crist I have been very pleased with most of your decisions and law making policies since your term began. I appreciate the fact that you are not afraid to “bump” the opposition, sometimes even from your own party, to get the job done for Floridians. I will definitely vote for you when the time comes. I will be eligible for Social Security in Feb. 2011 do this extension of unemployment really helps. I have been unemployed and actively looking for employment since I was laid off in August 2009. Thanks

When can we check the AWI site to see if we qualify for EB. My EUC Teir 4 ended July 12, 2010, do I have to sign up again or will I roll over into the 20weeks? I know we have been told “within 2 weeks”, but will the site be update to be able to find out if we qualify soon?

Thankyou Charlie! The Florida republican legislature is a disgrace! Shame on them…They say it will add to the deficit? The Bush years racked up a record 11 trillion[although they use Enron accounting tactics to dispute it, 2 bush wars where not free]! These skunksters want tax cuts for the rich, but can't find money for the unemployed, who they have put there with there republican deregulation of wall street…They didn't want us voting on a oil ban for their oil buddies, now vote out republicans!

if you are enrolling in EB for the first time be prepared to wait at least 4 weeks before you see your first check. They are backed up . happened to me.

Thank you Charlie

Good Luck to You all and Congratulations on the EB. No matter when you get it just know that we 99er's are happy you can have your piece of the pie too. Some work has opened up, not much but at least you will have Christmas Turkey. Should last ya til then.

I ran out like you of my EUC Teir 4 on July 5 2010, pratically I got 79 weeks of unemployment compensation, 6 months of regular benefits and 13 months of EUC Teir 1 2 3 and 4 would I be eligible for EB program?

I'm confused. Does this actually extend the date of eligibility until Dec 4th, or will people who did not make the June 5th deadline still be uneligible?

I am in the exact same boat as you because my benefits ended on the 7th. I have read over the post by Diane several times and it does look like we will be eligible to receive the additional EB. From what I understand, the actual date of eligibility is being extended from June 5th until Dec. 4th and we will be paid retroactively from our last benefit date (July 5th in your case). I am calling AWI first thing tomorrow just to be sure, but when I spoke with someone a week ago, they told me that if Charlie Christ did extend the EB benefit eligibility date, I should be eligible because I was eligible for Tier's 1-4.

Until I actually speak with someone at AWI all I can do is keep my fingers crossed.

Let's thank this man who made this possible
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kevin-Rader/22403...
Now we know who really cares about people, no more GOP for legislatures neither senators on the next elections.

It will be extended even for new applications of EB for my understanding.

Diane, thanks for your helpful post. I have been unemployed since Sept 20 2008 and have received 79 weeks of tier 1 thru tier 4 benefits. I have been told that I will not be eligible to receive further EUC benefits of 20 weeks unless a tier 5 is amended into the federal bill 4213, currently pending signature by Obama, because a tier 5 is not included in the current bill. Do you if this is accurate ? Thanks for your help.

What happened to Debrajo

does anyone know why some people get 13wks of EB and some get 20 wks

I have confirmed the extension of eligibility by calling AWI this morning. All we need to do now is wait for our letter in the mail and we can apply for EB. I asked her if we could apply now, but she said we have to wait until we receive the letter.

Thank you Charlie Christ!

There is not a tier 5 at this time, but you can receive the EB extension of 20 weeks through the state of Florida. You were told you were not eligible before because the eligibility date cut-off was on June 5th. Charlie Christ has extended the eligibility date until Dec 4th by passing Executive Order 10-170. EB is only available to states who have a 10% or higher unemployment rate I believe and FL is at 11.4%.

There is a formula they use that is based off of your income from your previous employer from a specific time period. You are entitled to a certain percentage based of that income, so this is probably the reason behind it.

Although, I may be wrong, but this is an educated guess.

Hi Diane, when my initial 26 weeks of unempolyment ends Mid October (if I at that time still do not have a job), I will then be able to apply for Tier One Extended Benefits. The question is “will I be able to receive the entire 20 weeks of Tier One which will take me into March 15,2011, or will my extended benefits end because of the new state legistaitve date on Dec 4,2010 which is the date new Florida State Law now ends for extended benefits ???? Can you please clarify, I would greatly appreciate it.
Obviously I am hoping it does continue until March, 2011

Sure pray your right James. I hope i didnt screw up last week to claim
was July 6th got 1 week. I was getting EUC i assume last tier Seeing been UNEMPLOYED since MAy 2009 so have collected just about 60 weeks total. I pray I can get the extended benefits at least get the 79 weeks or a job. I tried calling could not get through so i went on site reapplied? I just assume hope they see I was collecting until JULY 6 than exhausted claim. Wish they AWI would make this more simple to understand to much conflicting info but this site helps . Thanks .
Lets all give Charlie Crist our vote for Senate he at least trys help Floridians.

Please help us we have been unemployed the longest and it is hard out here. The 99ers need your support President Obama, we have been abandoned. I'm over the age of 50 and it's even harder for people to even look at my resume, just because of my age. I truly believe that 95% of the 99ers are over the age of 45. PLEASE REMEMBER US!

I want to say thank you for extending the benefits but I still think people receiving these benefits should be drug tested. If they are ready to start work when applying for these benefits if they are on drugs they would not pass the drug test given by that employer.

Hi Daniel, when my initial 26 weeks of unempolyment ends Mid October (if I at that time still do not have a job), I will then be able to apply for Tier One Extended Benefits. The question is “will I be able to receive the entire 20 weeks of Tier One which will take me into March 15,2011, or will my extended benefits end because of the new state legistaitve date on Dec 4,2010 which is the date new Florida State Law now ends for extended benefits ???? I would greatly appreciate your input.
Obviously I am hoping it does continue until March, 2011

Thanks for taking the time to reply. You are correct on your unempl. rate % as Fl is within the required parameters. The staff member with AWI who told me a tier v had to be passed was confused and meant to say that the EBs had to be approved by the state or by ex order signed by Crist – but she did not really understand the situation enough to explain it. I finally did the research myself and figured it out. Your reply pushed me to do the research. Im convinced that a lot of people are not going to have their individual questions answered until the letters go out from the AWI- and it is very difficult to reach them by phone or get specific answers when you do reach them if your situation is unusual. If you are not in the ” past 99 week ” position, you are probably going to receive further checks under the EB or EUC slots going forward unless you are in a very unusual situation. There is also a strong push underway at the national level to add a tier v – which has a chance of success. Anyone still confused should do a close read of Dianes post which lays the details out very well.

GUESS WE HAVE TO WAIT FOR NOTIFICATION BY MAIL. PROABLY 2 WEEKS. PLEASE, DEAR LORD. WE NEED THIS, PLAIN AND SIMPLE. I AM SUFFERING FROM ANXIETY/STRESS DISORDER. LAY AWAKE AT NIGHT AND CANNOT SLEEP. AND I HAVE TO ADD….I AM 61 YEARS OLD AND DEFINATELY DO NOT LOOK IT. AGEISM DOES EXIST OUT THERE.

I called this morning and I was told as I didn't make a minimum of $850 since my claim began I was denied for an extention.. does this make sense to anyone?

Hi my name is ashley we live in florida. My husband recieved his tier 1 and finished claiming his weeks all the way up to june 13th, 2010. so will he be eligible for the new extension. we are so confused with all of this stuff.

my daughter did 72 weeks.they said all she has left is 500 dollars..and doesnt get the extention.can anyone tell me why.she called the unimployment office.they are the ones that said no she doesnt get t..are they wrong.please tell me they are..desperate in fla.

I have exhausted teir 1,2 ,3 and 4 benefits.. when I called this morning I was told I would not be eligible for the extension since I have reported earning of more than $800 since my claim began. Obviously if I had earning I wouldn't need unemployment. Does anyone know what is going on? Was the representative misinformed? Do I just need to wait for the letter?
Please advise. I have no money to pay bills at this point

my daughter did 72 weeks on unployment..she called the unimployment office today and they told her that all she has is 500 in her account..can anyone tell me why she doesnt get the extention?unimployment told her she doesnt get it.please tell me they are wrond..Rita.from fla..

how do I know what tier I am in??????

I been out of work since May 09. So my last check was for the week of July 10th I think I am at 60 weeks. Confused.

everyone you speak to in the unemployment office says something different. This morning I was told I was not eligible tonight I was told I am. They will notify everyone by mail in the next 2 weeks if you are eligible if you don't get a notice call them. Even if you call them today they can not do anything till letters are sent out. My suggestion be patient. Don't believe everything you read and hear and just wait to see if something comes in the mail.

i am confused with all this with the EB teirs and such. i started unemployment on January 3, 2010, because my employer closed the doors on the 1st of January, and we were all laid off. my last check was for one week, around July 15,2010, and my balance is $0.00, so what teir does that make me, and will i qualify for this bill of extention? and for how long?

Hello,
My name is Christi and I was recently layed off in Dec of '09, I claimed the first benefits from unemployed and as soon as the funds from that claim were exhausted ( 6mo later)I receieved nothing. No letter stating I was going to be automatically enrolled for extended benefits. Now that all this is happening, will I be elegible for any other compensations, when and what do I need to do?
Thank you for your help in this matter.

just got off the phone with unemplyment. he said i exhausted my benefits. how can people get 99 weeks, 72 weeks and I get 59 weeks. but he was nice and atleast i got his direct number. he said they did not know the details of the extension, so waiting for the “letter” is all I can do. So as posted earlier, just wait.

diane, my original benefit claim started Feb 5 and ran out june 2, only received benefits for 4 mo's. With the new EUB deadline of Dec 4, what happens to elegibility after that, i haven't claimed any of tiers 1-4.will there still be bene's avail. to people like me?

Hi my name is Vickie, I am one of the 99ers. I lost my job back in 2007 due to the economy. I bought a house and had a GREAT HIGH PAYING JOB. My company was looking into buying 3 more communities that would have gave me work for 10 years until the banking and housing went the way it did.My company closed it's doors.I was a Construction Supervisor and made high wages.Now I can't even get a 7.00 an hour job due to the money I made in the past. And since then lost my home. So much for the American Dream it truely has been a nightmare.I worked in this career for over 20 years.I really don't know what to do .At least I was getting unemployment while I was looking for a job.And now I'm not PLEASE HELP US CHARLIE CRIST

it was at 9 trillion when bush took office,just facts

the problems with the awi is that they hired complete morons. i have gotten 72 weeks and have a zero balance. now were supposed to wait another 2 weeks for them to mail a letter, thats crazy i have not had a check since early june and when i was on unemployment they mailed me docs weeks after i was supposed to claim my weeks. if you needed the letter to file every two weeks you should not get unemployment anyway based on you being too stupid to file anyway. now just sit here with no money , no answer and no food stamps. i hope that they fix their computers soon and have an answer for all the people who have no funds in their acct. god bless us all and i hope we don't all start to steal to feed our familes as the govt doesn't give a shit about us. i used to be a mortgage broker and now i am just broker. i made over 100k a year and now unemployment is a lifeline to not being a criminal. people think its a vacation , well its the longest worst vacation i have ever been on. before the crumbling of the real estate market i have never gotten unemployment in 38 years. i have now been out of work since 12-08 when my company i worked for closed its doors , beacuse they could not buy back 200 plus million in bad loans. i pray for a teir 5 and maybe 6. if this govt could create a job i could stop my bitching

quit being a baby ive only gotten 12 weeks and im out of money it does not matter atleast they helped me for those 12 weeks.

Jack, I know it is frustrating and stressful because I am in your situation too. The dates are nearly identical. After 17 years or employment, the business I worked for, went under. Not only that, but we worked for one month without pay and had to go to the labor board to get that money and then it was only at minimum wage.

Now because I am in my 50's I am finding it hard to find a job but still need to eat.

I do thank Diane for her time and trouble explaining all this and everyone needs to read her thread here on EB. It is very easy to understand. As far as AWI, I believe they do a good job. I mean afterall, even their own bosses are confused by all the craziness.

Thanks to Charlie Crisp too. He took decisive action and has helped a lot of people.

Finally everyone, please be patient. The system needs to update first and then the checks will come to those who qualify. Until that happens and we get the letters, we need to just relax and do our best to cope.

FLUID does not tell you, but once you have exhausted your tiers 1-4 you would still have qualified for “emergency benefits extension” which I believe would have extended your benefits another 12 weeks(could be wrong about how many weeks)….The problem now being that I understand the application for these benefits would have had to be applied for prior to the june 4th deadline…….Once FLUID has taken care od the reprogramming of their systems, I would still reccommend applying for the emergency benefits…

It is my understanding that unless another extension is passed in november when the recently passed legislation expires, you would once again lose your federally funded EB's

OK Mr Roo…..First of all, The deficit you state as attributable to Bush was not of his own making, he too had been given the gift of debt upon his taking office. Mr Obaba has exponentially added to that debt on the short time he has already been in office, so please desist blaming everything on Bush
Obama has added more to the dificit in 2 years than Bush did in the last 6 years of office. Once again the facts seem to have eluded many of the complainers out there, including the majority of those sitting currently in congress.

what does this mean for people that got their benefits cut off on july12th 2010?

Husband has exhaused all unemployment tiers 1 through 4. Last check received was dated 6/4/10. Does he qualify for the newest EB? He has tried calling AWI daily but can not get through. This is so confusing!

James what happened with that?cause I exhausted tier 4 benefits,was wondering if we were eligible?

nvm see your bottom post…that great!!

FLUID does not go out of its way to inform you of eligibility for the additional level of benefits to which you are entitled, so for the benefit of those of you who have exhausted your regular and tiers 1-4, here is the link for the application for the additional benefits which would bring you to the 99 week point. These benefits can be claimed retroactively.
https://www2.myflorida.com/fluid/eb_default.asp
Hope this helps.

I also have been out of work since May 2009 and my last check was on July 13, 2010. I was in Tier 2 that would be 60 weeks of unemployment. I called AWI and they informed that I qualified for the next Tier.Waiting for the “letter”. The next Tier is 3 and that provides 13 weeks of unemployment. The next Tier is 4 and provides 6 weeks. Tiers 3 and 4 would be the additional 19 weeks for total of 79 weeks. Tier 4 would be until November 22, 2010. Then EB for 2 weeks until Dec. 4, 2010 unless the Florida Legislature approves extending the EB date to sometime next year. EB is the extended benefits and provides 20 weeks of unemployment. The 4 tiers and extended benefits is the 99 weeks of unemployment. Hope this helps you.

This is so confusing! Hubby spoke to two different people today at AWI. First person told him that he would qualify for EB since he has been unemployed since 5/07 and has used all of tier 1,2,3, and 4. AWI sent him a letter postmarked 8/2/10 informing him to claim weeks from early May. We tried to claim them on line but were told no weeks were available. Hubby called AWI back and was told the letter sent to him was “a mistake” and that he had no weeks to claim and that he was NOT going to get anything from the new EB just passed. Rep told him that the new EB just extended dates for folks to file for tier 1,2,3 and 4. DOes anyone out there really understand what this new EB does for those who are the long term unemployed?

I have exhaused all my tiers. I decided to file for the newest EB. I was told I do not qualify. After reading your comments tonight I went to the website that PJ gave and reapplyed. Now they need more info and they want me to call. I AGREE THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING.

In reply to Sunshinegrl210

Just to play devil's advocate, if someone was employed and they worked at a place that drug tested, then they should be able to get another in that field and they should be smart enough while they answer the question… are you “looking for work as instructed” and going for interviews, they should already “not” be taking drugs. ya think?

on the other hand, if someone was a drug abuser and had a job that did not test, i think they can find another one. Yes there are many job out there that don't test. Mind you though, they are mostly low on the pay scale, but…it is an income regardless of drug use or not.

i don't think testing people would help them get a job anyways, due to the ability to bypass tests. Or simply stop for a bit, then restart once hired. Many places don't test unless you get hurt on the job to protect them from workman's comp.

there is no easy way to police habits. personally i would rather have someone who did drugs as a co-worker than a pedophile or sex offender. sadly there are no test for those…

and yes thank you for the continued benefits. If you call and can not get through due to high call volume using #4 and it hangs up on you, instead choose to get info on your claim, #3 then it will put you on hold. Then they will qualify you right then back weeks included. try to call before noon and it will process that day.

best of luck to all.

a non-drug taker.