Jason Delgado
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday announced Florida is now technologically able to begin paying the Federal Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) program benefits to eligible Floridians.
The LWA program will offer an additional $300 every week for eligible Floridians who are currently receiving unemployment benefits.
To qualify for the federal boost, the claimant must be currently receiving at least $100 weekly in an approved Reemployment Assistance program. Claimants must also be able to certify that they are unemployed or partially unemployed because of COVID-19. Eligible Floridians will receive the additional dollars without any secondary applications, similar to the COVID-19 stimulus checks.
The announcement said the benefits would be retroactive to Aug. 1. The Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) will pay out for weeks ending that day, Aug. 8 and Aug. 15.
“We thank President Trump and the Federal Emergency Management Agency for providing this relief to Floridians during this time of need,” DeSantis said in a news release. “These additional funds will provide critical support to Florida’s unemployed workforce due to COVID-19.”
The extra funding for Florida’s unemployed, however, will likely be short-lived because Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster relief money funds the program. Both FEMA and the U.S. Department of Labor forecast the funding to last roughly three weeks after a state’s application is approved. What’s more, the agencies warn that funding could dry up at any time.
The program will be administered similar to an earlier federal assistance program providing $600 per week that expired in July, and unemployment applicants will not need to file additional paperwork, the Governor’s Office said.
Meanwhile, the number of new Floridians seeking unemployment help has continued to decline in recent weeks.
According to DEO data through Tuesday, there are about 2.1 million Floridians now eligible for state reemployment assistance, federal pandemic emergency unemployment assistance or federal pandemic unemployment assistance, nearly 2 million of whom have been paid. Another 672,339 people are not eligible for state or federal reemployment assistance.
In all, $15.8 billion has been paid out to people who’ve filed unemployment claims since the beginning of the pandemic in Florida. Out of that figure, $10.4 billion came from federal pandemic unemployment compensation or LWA. Another $656.7 million has come from federal pandemic unemployment assistance and $755.4 million has been drawn from federal pandemic emergency unemployment compensation.
More information is available online.
17 comments
Esteban yu
September 8, 2020 at 7:23 pm
What about those who have already exhausted state benefits and are not receiving anything but are still unemployed?
Arthur C Phillips
September 12, 2020 at 4:13 am
Why are some states federal money for 6 weeks?
Mildred
September 10, 2020 at 12:13 am
I just want to say thanks to the President, its a rough time and what so ever i get i make the best use of it especially my rent. I dont want to go on the street.
Stan
September 10, 2020 at 8:24 am
Wow.. really.. thank the president … For giving u an extra 900 when we can’t survive on unemployment alone. This has taken forever… And I would love to be back at work… Kids are home and job isn’t open… Tough to pay mortgage and bills and buy food. But yes let’s thank the president who had no clue how to handle a virus ….
Pablo
September 10, 2020 at 11:05 am
She’s been drinking the Clorox!
blo me
September 11, 2020 at 8:57 am
suck a cock you fucking ungrateful slut
Arthur C Phillips
September 12, 2020 at 4:42 am
Good language you teach your kids thst
jose
September 22, 2020 at 7:52 pm
The virus came from China. Stop doing the “looser dem thing” by blaming the president for anything bad that happens……
Megan
September 10, 2020 at 3:31 pm
I get $99 a week and have my 2 grandchildren living with me. $1 in unemployment keeps me from receiving a much needed $300 boost. It’s really hard to survive!
Angela
September 10, 2020 at 7:35 pm
I make $87on my unemployment weekly so I can not receive the $300 weekly benifit seems to be unfair to all the millions of people who are on unemployment don’t make a lot of money So we are screwed the low income people who need it the most very disappointing in President Trump and Ron Desantis my Governor of Florida
jose
September 22, 2020 at 7:55 pm
Hell….if you’re making $870/week you must live in Minnesota and that’s a hell of a lot more money than about 50% of the country makes so, no, you don’t get the $300.
Nancy Luckhurst
September 11, 2020 at 2:53 pm
We are in the same boat My husband gets $98 a week in UE so we won’t get the extra help. We really need it. This is sick.
Tee shy
September 11, 2020 at 7:28 am
Florida apply for the extra three weeks of unemployment $300 boost that FEMA announced on September 10th that states can receive up to a maximum of 6 weeks
Arthur C Phillips
September 12, 2020 at 4:40 am
Didnt hear that only 3 weeks for Florida I heard
Wayne Principe
September 13, 2020 at 12:39 pm
YEA ILL TAKE IT I HAVENT RECEIVED MY INCOME TAX OR FIRST STIMULUS CHECK.
Scott
September 16, 2020 at 4:24 pm
I have never received a Federal stimulus check. Just been getting $275 per week since June. I called DEO (Florida) and its the most chaotic thing I have ever witnessed in my 30 business career.
George Violet
September 24, 2020 at 9:03 am
I live in Florida. Its now Sept 24 and I still have not recieved this extra $300 which was approved on Sept 8th. Not sure why the delay. Theyre 8 weeks behind on paying me going back to Aug 1st
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