Florida unemployment ‘glitch?’ Benefits mysteriously put on hold for those who claimed weeks on Than

Florida unemployment ‘glitch?’ Benefits mysteriously put on hold for those who claimed weeks on Thanksgiving

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — 8 On Your Side is trying to figure out why hundreds – if not thousands – of Florida unemployment recipients had their benefits put on hold over the Thanksgiving holiday.

The common denominator appears to be if people claimed their benefits on Thanksgiving itself. However, it’s unclear if the issue is connected to the holiday.

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity warned claimants that deposits would be delayed due to the holiday. However, this was not anticipated.

A spokesperson for the DEO tells 8 On Your Side the agency is “researching the issue.”

Lee Swole, a laid-off construction worker, is one of the victims of the Thanksgiving glitch. He says it’s the first major DEO issue he’s faced since applying for unemployment benefits earlier this year.

Swole claimed his benefits on Thanksgiving, just like he does every other Thursday. He expected to not get paid until this week but he didn’t expect to log on Monday and find his two weeks of benefits mysteriously on hold.

“I have a wife and two kids to take care of, my rent was due Saturday,” he said. “It’s just a crying shame what they’re doing to us.”

It’s unclear if this issue is connected to other glitches 8 On Your Side has reported on in recent months.

Swole says a DEO employee told him it could take two weeks to fix the problem. It’s a wait he can’t afford, he says, with rent already due and Christmas just around the corner.

The problem was the employment verification checklist. Of course, it has been waived but the system put on hold all unemployed claims that put they did not search for a job. My wife called in and they said it would be fixed and it took her 5 days to get her unemployment from the thanksgving week.