Florida unemployment: Applications open for $100 mixed earner benefit claims
A long-delayed form of unemployment that could provide some Floridians with an extra $100 per week is finally coming online.
The state Department of Economic Opportunity this week implemented a process to apply for Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation, a provision of the $900 billion federal relief bill passed in December that’s been slow to roll out across the country.
Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation, or MEUC, is designed to benefit workers whose employment situation straddles the gap between wage earners and gig workers. People who held a job but also earned more than $5,000 in gig or self-employment income qualified for the weekly payments. The $100 weekly payments are not available to anyone currently receiving $300 per week in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.
On Tuesday night, the state started sending out guidance on how users can apply — and there is one catch. For the time being, mixed earner applications are not available through the state’s main unemployment platform, Connect. Users will have to go through the state’s mobile unemployment app to submit wage documentation, including income tax returns and proof of self-employment income, which can include paycheck stubs, bank receipts, contracts or invoices.
The Department of Economic Opportunity did not specify why mixed earner benefit applications were being shepherded through the mobile site instead of Connect, but a spokeswoman said it was likely because it was easier and faster to implement that way.
Claims must be reviewed and approved, and the state hasn’t issued a timetable for when that will happen. But once users complete the initial application via mobile, they should be able to track the status of their payment via Connect — and will not have to re-apply each week, the spokeswoman said.
More guidance and instructions regarding Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation benefits is available at the Department of Economic Opportunity’s website, floridajobs.org.
