Sara Girard

Some people have been waiting now for more than a month to get their unemployment payments, and the state’s website used to apply for those benefits is still acting up despite recent upgrades. We continue to work toward new answers about how the state is trying to serve Floridians going through the unemployment process. The […]

Roughly 5% of unemployment claims submitted after March 15 have been paid out. That’s based on numbers the DEO released Thursday night. Many of you say you’re in limbo, waiting for payments and need more to be done. Some in Naples have gotten together to put a face to the state’s unemployment problems. RALLY IN […]

Bills are piling up and tensions are running high in Southwest Florida due to unemployment. For many community members, the unemployment process is failing. We continue to listen to those who reach out to us and press the state for answers. We have heard from hundreds of Southwest Florida community members the unemployment website isn’t […]

Wednesday has been a tough day for many of you who tell us because the unemployment website went down, you can’t continue your application, check your status or claim your benefits. The DEO says the website went down so they can process claims. But many of you say you’re still worried. We’ve received hundreds of […]

One woman says she waited almost four weeks after submitting her unemployment application only to be denied. Another man says the system thinks he still has a job when he doesn’t. We spoke to many of you who are losing hope and want to show the state that their improvements haven’t been enough. The word […]

The WINK News newsroom has been flooded with questions from concerned Southwest Floridians over unemployment issues. We set out with a goal to get all of your questions answered. Below are the questions we have asked The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) and Governor Ron DeSantis’ office. Some remain unanswered and we continue to […]

As businesses shut their doors or reduce their hours, many are hoping they can get a small business loan to stay afloat until the economy improves, but some business owners said the loans aren’t coming fast enough. Michael Fattah owns Ristorante Farfalla, an Italian restaurant in Estero. “It’s a bunch of good employees that I […]

So many of you are fed up, tired of dealing with a seemingly broken unemployment system online and over the phone. Mike Baroody’s patience is wavering. “When you get to a prompt, it says you need to speak to an agent. It tells you that if you want to wait more than 10 minutes, they […]

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity launched a mobile-friendly website for unemployment applicants after many struggled to file, but there are still plenty of questions unanswered. Robert Kantor of Punta Gorda finally got to apply, but he’s still confused. “The speed is great, it’s smooth. The questions are fewer,” he said. But … “When you’re […]

People across the nation are struggling to file for unemployment, and Florida is no different. While the governor said they’ve made improvements to the system, people are still reporting problems. Paper applications were mailed out this week, allowing people to file for unemployment by mail – but those forms are actually only for people who […]