Q&A of the Day – What’s the maximum weekly payout in Florida with the Lost Wages Assistance program?
Each day I’ll feature a listener question that’s been submitted by one of these methods.
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Today’s entry: Florida is ready to begin paying out Trump’s extra $300 weekly in unemployment. Did the state opt in for the extra $100 that was being talked about? I’m not sure I understand what the total weekly payout will be.
Bottom Line: This is a question which has come up a few times recently and it’s understandable why you’d be confused. There are many moving pieces and variables that come into play including, why one is unemployed, when the eligibility period opened up, how much each state’s usual benefits happen to be, how much money one is receiving in unemployment weekly and whether a state opted-in for an extra $100 weekly. Let’s take this from the top. First, here’s who is eligible for supplemental unemployment benefits under President Trump’s Lost Wages Assistance program:
- Those unemployed due specifically to COVID-19 related furloughs/layoffs as of August 1st or later
- Those who are eligible for Florida unemployment benefits as of August 1st or later, who were eligible for at least $100 weekly in Florida benefits
The program, like the first round of unemployment supplemental payments, is being handled through the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. In order to receive the Lost Wages supplemental money, one must be in a state who requested the program and was approved (which Florida did/is) and you must be eligible for at least $100 in weekly unemployment benefits through the FDEO. As for how much you’ll be eligible to receive...here’s the breakdown:
- The Lost Wages program will pay $300 weekly for up to six weeks backdated to August 1st for a total benefit of $1,800
- Total maximum weekly benefit of $575 for Floridians for up to six weeks
As of now, only three states are scheduled to pay an extra $100 at the state level in addition to these benefits. Florida isn’t one of them. That supplemental extra hundred bucks has commonly been confused with the eligibility threshold to qualify for these supplemental payouts. Hopefully this made it easier to understand. Like almost all things that involve government, especially at multiple levels, the program sounds complicated but really isn’t once you’re aware of exactly what it means to you.