TAMPA, Fla. — In less than two months, more than 100 people have contacted the ABC Action News I-Team, saying they are stuck waiting on unemployment benefits and are growing more desperate by the day.
This is as they continue to apply for jobs or have secured a new job but are still owed benefits.
Before the holidays, the I-Team reported on seemingly thousands of Floridians stuck in a holding pattern, known as an "adjudication hold," with no end in sight while waiting for the state to determine their unemployment benefits.
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As the I-Team has reported for years, Floridians are faced with hours-long wait times, day after day, week after week, are disconnected, never called back, or cannot get through at all to someone at the Department of Commerce for help.
Now, the I-Team is hearing from Floridians who survived hurricanes Helene and Milton but are now drowning in debt.
Regina Parrish worked on St. Armand's Circle. She spoke with the I-Team via Zoom after moving out of state.
“I’m here with my family in Indiana. I had to leave Sarasota. I lost my condo. I couldn’t pay for it. I can’t pay my bills, so I will probably have to file bankruptcy," Parrish said.
Parrish said she is owed benefits dating back to October 1.
“I don’t want anyone to go through what I’m going through. And if there are people with children or their cars or their mortgages, I don’t want — it’s a terrible feeling," Parrish said.
She continued, "You just feel helpless and I just want the unemployment office, the state, to do what they can to get this fixed. I mean, it’s ridiculous that I don’t have benefits. Other people are struggling, I’m sure, because of this. So that’s the main reason why I reached out to you.”
She also contacted Governor Ron DeSantis' office and was told she'd be hearing from someone at the Department of Commerce.
That was two weeks ago. She said she has yet to receive a call.
“It’s terrible. I had a 740 credit score and now it’s down to like 500," Parrish said. "The lawmakers, they should step in. Somebody needs to step in."
Democratic State Rep. Anna Eskamani, of Orlando, recently posted on social media about seeing more and more unemployment emails come in.
"We were already seeing a huge influx of cases and my staff have been trying to talk to the department to get results and responses, and it just seems like regardless of how many times we’re trying to get a question answered for someone, they just can’t get through," Eskamani said.
The I-Team has also worked to get answers about this issue from the Department of Commerce over the last two months, calling multiple times, asking questions, requesting interviews, sending the names and information of people in need of help, and joining the statewide employment data media call.
Still — questions have gone ignored.
When asked about her experience trying to get answers from the Department of Commerce, Eskamani said, "Oftentimes there just is no clarity."
The state representative said the state makes it very difficult for someone to apply for unemployment in the first place.
"And then even when you do, you may not qualify for benefits, based on very strict criteria," she said.
Alexa Tapia, with the nonprofit National Employment Law Project (NELP), said Florida "remains to be out of step with where the rest of the country is."
“As of the most recent data, only 9% of Floridians received unemployment insurance, which is one of the lowest what we call ‘recipiency rates’ in the country," Tapia said.
As of the most recent quarter of data available, Florida is second only to the state of Kentucky.
"Workers that typically should be eligible for unemployment insurance, who are in need of unemployment insurance, are not receiving UI benefits because of Florida’s policies," Tapia said.
“Florida has made it, on purpose, very difficult to access. So the only way to change that is to push lawmakers this legislative session to place reforms into focus," Eskamani said.
"I just hope that somebody steps in and realizes that they’re ruining people’s lives," Parrish said.
I-Team Reporter Kylie McGivern is continuing to send the names and information she receives to the state to try to connect people with help. Please fill out this form if you would like to be added to the list:
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