Governor Ron DeSantis extends work search waiver until September 5

DORAL, FL – Governor Ron DeSantis directed the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity to extend work search waiver for unemployed residents due to the lack of jobs available. 

According to the Department’s website, DeSantis also waived the work registration requirement for claimants, although answers to work search questions are still required to process a claim in the system but will not impact benefit payments.

“Instead of adding additional steps to access reemployment assistance benefits, Gov. DeSantis has directed the DEO to continue waiving the work search, work registration requirements and waiting week requirement for claimants,” reads an end-of-day update of DEO referenced by Sun Sentinel.

Before the pandemic, state law required out-of-job applicants aspiring to unemployment benefits to demonstrate every two weeks that they were indeed actively looking for a job to qualify for financial aid, while also having to register their work status with the agency.

However, due to the economic impact the coronavirus has brought, the labor supply has decreased, specially in South Florida, as businesses continue to suffer the consequences of closings and coronavirus related shutdowns. 

Many businesses across the state had closed permanently, let go of several employees or dramatically scaled back operations for which currently it’s harder to find a job than it was in February when the  coronavirus pandemic hadn’t reach Florida territory.

The waiver extensions came as a federal program providing people without a job with $600 more in unemployment aid, but there’s still pending a new announcement about the federal moratorium on residential evictions from properties which now ends on August 1. 

To file a claim for Reemployment assistance, click here.