ORLANDO, Fla. – News 6 featured Orlando salesperson David Catalano in August, after he waited more than three months for Florida unemployment benefits. Since his story aired, Make Ends Meet has received an additional 17 requests from viewers with the same issue as Catalano, a message on their Reconnect Homepage that says, “Your claim has a pending issue awaiting an adjudication determination.”
According to the Florida Department of Commerce, that determination is usually made, “within two to six weeks of filing your claim.” However, most of the requests received by News 6 are from claimants who have been waiting months for a decision.
Pernell Hamilton from Miami, Florida, has been waiting for more than two months. Hamilton applied in early June after being let go from his position as a compliance specialist at Miami International Airport. Hamilton had worked there for almost four years and tells News 6 that for now, he is relying solely on his dwindling savings.
“I’m pretty much stuck in a position where I have to debate between paying for food and paying for bills, which becomes very demoralizing when you already experienced the hardship of not being employed,” Hamilton remarked.
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Suzanne Dubay from Melbourne, Florida, also describes her situation as “demoralizing,” stating to News 6, “All I’ve received is more frustration and aggravation and no answers.”
Dubay filed for unemployment in late June after being downsized from the pharmaceutical company where she worked for 14 years. She says, “Going through all of this and hoping to land another job, what it tells me is that nothing is guaranteed, and nothing is promised.”
Dubay describes her experience with the Florida unemployment system as “eye-opening” and she has a message for Florida Commerce: “Get the system working. People should not have to go through this. It should not take having to do something ‘like this’ in order to get the answers.”
Dubay is referring to reaching out to a local television news station for assistance.
So far in 2024, News 6 and Make Ends Meet have received more than 100 requests for assistance with unemployment-related issues, including the 17 claimants mentioned above.
Make Ends Meet sent their information to the Florida Commerce Communications Department for review about a month ago. Since then, a handful of those claimants finally received their benefits, including Pernell Hamilton.
Hamilton sent an email to Make Ends Meet stating, “I received a large lump sum payment of $2,717 on Sept. 6, 2024, and have not had an issue since then with claiming the remaining weeks.”
A couple of the claimants have been found ineligible. As for the rest, Make Ends Meet will continue to work with the state to make sure everyone who is eligible receives their benefits.
If you have an unemployment issue and you want us to present it to Florida Connect, email makeendsmeet@wkmg.com.
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