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
CareerSource Brevard – Rockledge
295 Barnes Blvd
Rockledge, FL 32955
321-504-7600
https://careersourcebrevard.com/
CareerSource Brevard – Palm Bay
Country Club Plaza, 5275 Babcock St., NE
Suite 8B,
Palm Bay, FL 32905
321-504-7600
https://careersourcebrevard.com/
CareerSource Brevard – Titusville
2880 S. Washington Ave, Ste. 214
Titusville, FL 32780
321-504-7600
https://careersourcebrevard.com/
Hours:
Tuesday 9AM–6PM
Wednesday 9AM–6PM
Thursday 9AM–6PM
Friday 8AM–12PM
Saturday Closed
Sunday Closed
Monday 9AM–6PM
Indian River County
CareerSource Research Coast
1880 82nd Ave. Suite 103
Vero Beach, FL 32966
866-482-4473
http://careersourcerc.com/
Hours:
Tuesday 8AM–5PM
Wednesday 8AM–5PM
Thursday 9AM–5PM
Friday 8AM–5PM
Saturday Closed
Sunday Closed
Monday 8AM–5PM
Orange County
Career Source Central Florida
5784 S. Semoran Blvd
Orlando, FL 32822
407-531-1227
Hours:
Tuesday 8AM–5PM
Wednesday 8AM–5PM
Thursday 8AM–5PM
Friday 9AM–5PM
Saturday Closed
Sunday Closed
Monday 8AM–5PM
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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