OrlandoSentinel.com

UPDATE: 9:30 a.m. Saturday:

Deep in the state’s FAQ on extended benefits, the state says that after July 25, work-search activity must be verified before a payment will be sent. But folks who have been receiving benefits say that’s not been done until this week and that the state provided them no heads up. They also say customer service representatives and managers who process claims told them they were just recently instructed to do the verifications before sending the checks.

Unemployment checks to jobless Floridians have been delayed because the state appears to have tightened its eligibility rules in recent weeks.

It is now requiring that the job-search activities of people receiving so-called extended benefits be verified by state workers before a benefits check is sent. That runs counter to a U.S. Department of Labor advisory that specifically said “it is not practical” to do so.

The practice, according to those waiting for checks, delays payments by several days and was enacted, they say, with no notice.

Robin Moon of east Orlando said an agency worker told her this week that her check was late because workers had been instructed to review the job-search activities of everyone receiving extended benefits — about 85,000 people statewide. Extended benefits are the latest round of emergency benefits approved by the Florida Legislature in May.

“She said everything had to be checked,” Moon said. “That just seems impossible.” Federal officials acknowledge as much.

A May advisory from the Labor Department stated that checks can be issued before job-search evidence has been verified because “it is not practical for states” to do otherwise.

The advisory says state officials must periodically review a “reasonable sample” of job-search evidence after checks have been sent. If they discover then that a recipient is not looking for work, he or she can be denied benefits.

A spokesman for the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation said the state was following federal law by verifying work-search activities. He said he was unaware of the Labor Department advisory and did not know when Florida began requiring verification before unemployment checks were issued.

Recipients, however, say it has started only in the past week or so. Many noticed the change after checks did not show up in their bank accounts on the days they expected. They insist the state gave them no notice.

“There was never any notification — nothing,” said Nancy Mandowa of Hollywood. “It’s not their normal process.”

Other benefits recipients say they were told checks were delayed because of confusion over what sort of job-search activities are acceptable.

State guidelines encourage claimants to look for work through a combination of methods, such as Internet searches, phone calls, job fairs and face-to-face meetings. Although those suggestions do not appear to be requirements for eligibility, some state workers appear to be interpreting them as such.

Andrew Stettner, deputy director of the National Employment Law Project, a worker advocacy group, said Florida’s “heavy-handed approach” was “disappointing.” He was particularly critical of reports that the state was delaying payments until job-search paperwork had been reviewed.

He said there are too many people receiving — and depending on — extended benefits for such a policy to run smoothly.

“This is one of the worst cases I’ve heard,” Stettner said.

Most checks have been delayed for only several days, but for many people that’s too long.

Unemployment recipients are living week to week, timing bill payments with the arrival of their checks. Moon, for example, expected her check to arrive no later than Tuesday of this week. On Wednesday, money was automatically withdrawn from her bank account to cover her power bill and car payment. When the unemployment check didn’t show up, she was hit with a $200 penalty.

“That’s really the last thing I need,” said Moon, a laid-off credit counselor. “I mean, they’re playing with people’s lives here.”

Jim Stratton can be reached at jstratton@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5379.