A Helping Hand in Tough Times: Job Loss: What to do
To file for unemployment in Florida online, http://www.floridajobs.org or call 800-204-2418.
For help locating a job, career planning and free resume assistance, contact one of the Workforce Center Locations below:
Brevard County
One-Stop Career Center
Brevard Job Link
801 Dixon Blvd.
Cocoa, FL 32922
Or
5275 Babcock Street, NE
Suite 8B
Palm Bay, FL 32962
Ph: 321-394-0700
Hours of Operation:
8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday;
9 a.m. – 7 p.m. on Wednesday
http://www.servicelocator.org/search/detail-info.asp?Category=CenterInformation&ParentID=31301504&state=FL
Indian River County
One-Stop Career Center
25th Avenue and 18th Street
Vero Beach, FL 32962
Ph: 772-336-3030
Hours of Operation:
8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Monday - Thursday
www.yourworkforcesolutions.com
Osceola County
One-Stop Career Center
Ph: 407-705-1555 x 5400
1392 East Vine Street
Kissimmee, FL 34744
Ph: 407-705-1555
Hours of Operation:
8 a.m. – 6 p.m., Monday - Thursday
8 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Friday
http://www.workforcecentralflorida.com/oscc/location.asp
Polk County
One-Stop “Polk Works” Career Centers
500 E. Lake Howard Drive
Winter Haven, Fl 33881
Ph: 863-508-1100 x 300 or 309
Or
309 North Ingraham Avenue
Lakeland, FL 33801
Ph: 863-683-5627 x 0
http://www.polkworks.org/polkworks/
Keeping Your Health Insurance
COBRA
Contact the human Resources Department at your former employer and ask for information about COBRA health Insurance. You are allowed to purchase up to 18 months of health insurance benefits through the group plan of your former employer. Your employer is allowed to charge you up to 102% of the premium.
In 2009, the Federal government also began a COBRA subsidy program for qualifying individuals:
• Applies to former-employees who qualify for COBRA coverage and
• Were involuntarily terminated after September 1, 2008, or
• Are involuntarily terminated before January 1, 2010, and pick up their COBRA continuation coverage.
• The former employee is responsible for 35% of the health insurance premium,
• The subsidy lasts nine months,
• There is no "look back" for the subsidy, it went into effect when it was signed into law on February, 17, 2009,
• There is an income threshold for the subsidy: an individual's modified adjusted gross income must be below $145,000.
There is special 60-day election period for former employees who did not pick up their COBRA continuation coverage within the standard period of eligibility, but would now like to do so. This election period also applies to those who elected COBRA coverage, dropped it due to expense, and would now like to participate with the supplement. The Administrator of the health insurance plan must notify all eligible former employees of this opportunity to participate.
Health Care Tax Credit (HCTC)
Workers eligible for Trade Adjustment Assistance or receiving a pension paid by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) may be eligible to receive HCTC, a refundable and advanceable tax credit which covers 65% of the premium.
Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC08) Program
In July 2008, a new temporary unemployment benefit, the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC08) program, began. It provides up to 20 additional weeks of unemployment benefits to certain workers who have exhausted their rights to regular unemployment compensation (UC) benefits. A second tier of benefits provides up to an additional 14 weeks of benefits for a total of 34 weeks. A third tier is available in states such as Florida with a total unemployment rate of at least 6% and provides up to an additional 13 weeks of benefits for a total of 47 weeks. A fourth tier is available in states such as Florida with a total unemployment rate of at least 8.5% and provides up to an additional 6 weeks of benefits for a total of 53 weeks.
Those beneficiaries receiving tier I, II, III or IV EUC08 benefits before December 26, 2009, are “grandfathered” for their remaining weeks of eligibility for that particular tier only. There will be no new entrants into any tier of the EUC08 program after December 26, 2009. That is, if an individual exhausts his or her regular unemployment compensation benefits after December 26, 2009, the individual would not be eligible for any EUC08 benefit. If an individual is eligible to continue to receive his or her remaining tier I benefit after December 26, 2009, that individual would not be entitled to tier II benefits once those tier I benefits were exhausted.
Congress reauthorized the EUC08 program on December 16, 2009. Individuals should contact the Florida Unemployment Agency to obtain information on how to apply for and receive EUC08 benefits. They can be reached at 1-800-204-2418 or at website http://www.floridajobs.org/unemployment/uc_emp_claims.html
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