Looking for Your Unemployment Money? Check Your Inbox

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Finally! Guidance on Applying for Federal Unemployment Benefits

Independent contractors, including most Realtors, can get up to $875 ($600 + $275) per week. An application button appears after you get rejected for state-back benefits.

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – More than 90,000 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claims from independent contractors, many of whom are Realtors, have been processed and nearly 55,000 are receiving their benefits, according to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity’s (DEO) unemployment dashboard.

This is a significant increase from two weeks ago as DEO continues to make improvements to Florida’s strained unemployment system, known as CONNECT.

If you have not received unemployment benefits, DEO says claimants should continue to check their CONNECT system inbox and email accounts linked to their applications to ensure they are not missing important notifications regarding their applications. These messages may contain an applicant’s denial for state benefits, which is an important first step in the process to apply for PUA benefits.

The messages may also contain requests from DEO to address certain issues with a claimant’s state and/or PUA application, such as missing information, incorrect information or both.

As a reminder for Realtors applying for federal PUA benefits, you must first apply for state benefits and be denied.

If you applied for state benefits on or before April 4 you must:

• Go to CONNECT and apply for state benefits again.
• Wait for DEO to deny your state benefits.
• Once you get denied, check your CONNECT inbox for instructions about PUA.
• If you applied for state benefits after April 4 you must:
• Wait for DEO to deny your state benefits.

Once you get denied, check your CONNECT inbox for instructions about PUA.

In both cases, you will not get access to the PUA application until DEO has processed your state benefits application and denied your state benefits. Only then will access to the PUA application appear in the CONNECT system. A flowchart outlining the process can be found here.

Once Realtors are denied state benefits and receive access to the PUA application, they can refer to this guide and/or this video for assistance as they fill it out.

These resources and much more can be found on DEO’s CARES Act website. Florida Realtors has also has a Q&A on the topic.

© 2020 Florida Realtors®