Sara Girard

As unemployed Floridians revise their budgets to live without the extra money from the federal government, the governor gave us a peek into how the state will pay for the president’s new proposed boost in unemployment benefits. Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday the state’s best option is likely to ask the federal government for a […]

President Donald Trump has taken executive action aimed at helping those who are struggling. He announced $400 in weekly federal unemployment payments to Americans who are out of work. That’s $200 less than people were previously receiving, and states will be responsible for paying part of that. Nothing is set in stone, but one expert […]

According to the state’s unemployment dashboard, it’s paid more than $8.5 billion in CARES Act benefits to unemployed Floridians. But, as of last Saturday, that extra $600 a week is over. We looked at how the decrease in unemployment benefits is impacting workers Southwest Florida Monday. For Bonnie Armstrong, losing the extra $600 in federal […]

Losing federal unemployment benefits will make it hard for people in Southwest Florida to make ends meet. The $600 weekly benefit, a CARES Act addition to state benefits, will end July 25 in Florida unless Congress passes legislation to extend it. Anne Lindberg of Port Charlotte is out of work, but she’s paying her bills thanks […]

Florida’s unemployment rate for June dropped to 10.4%. But those gains might be short lived, as parts of the state closed yet again. We spoke to a man in Southwest Florida who is riding this unemployment rollercoaster. Musician Scott McDonald is out of work — again. He initially stopped performing at the Cielo, a restaurant […]

The Department of Economic Opportunity has canceled contracts with two companies that were hired to pick up calls about unemployment claims of Floridians. A woman who still works for one of those companies told us she thinks wait times are going to get worse. DEO spokesperson Paige Landrum told us those companies are AECOM and […]

Florida, Texas and California are all reporting the highest death tolls among states in the U.S. since the coronavirus pandemic began. As cases grow, more governors are imposing restrictions. But Gov. Ron DeSantis has not decided to do the exact same thing. We continued to look at what the state is doing to respond to […]

A Cape Coral councilman has gained negative attention after he was caught on camera with a mask over his entire face at the most recent city council meeting. He also abruptly left the meeting prior to that one. Now, a Cape Coral businessman says he was directly threatened by the elected leader. Jay LaGace, a […]

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity’s claims dashboard says it has paid 100 percent of eligible claimants, yet dozens of people have told WINK News that they’re missing weeks of payments. Some have said they’ve gone months and still don’t know whether they’ve been approved. Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday said the DEO has been […]

An apparent glitch in the system and inconsistent information is causing confusion over unemployment. We looked at what to do Thursday if your benefits have exhausted or they’re about to. Soon, claimants should get a link on CONNECT for Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), the federal program that extends your benefits for 13 more weeks. […]