Florida may not be eligible for additional weeks of Lost Wages Assistance

Three extra weeks. That’s what FEMA says some people collecting unemployment can receive in jobless benefits, but Floridians may not be eligible.

We already got the first three weeks of Lost Wages Assistance, so why can’t Floridan’s collect the rest?

Basically, it boils down to how the state pays out its benefits. In order for Florida to qualify for those extra benefits, the state has to maintain that 25% of claims paid weekly are coming from state unemployment benefits.

Those benefits last 12 weeks. As time goes by and those weeks run out, eligible people can keep collecting benefits with federal dollars, like Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC). Or if they’re not eligible for state Reemployment Assistance at all, they could receive Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA).

The problem is, fewer people are collecting state dollars, meaning we may not meet the 25% threshold to collect all six weeks of additional money in LWA.

“We think we’re going to be able to get the fourth week, which we would like to do, but we’re not sure we’re going to be able to get the fifth week,” said Governor Ron DeSantis at a press conference Thursday. “I would like to do it.”

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