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Furloughed Workers Could Qualify For Unemployment Benefits

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By KRISTA KLAUS | News Channel 8

Published: March 12, 2009

TAMPA - The public lexicon is changing as the economic downturn lingers.

Phrases such as "stimulus package," "bankruptcy cram-down" and "mortgage modification" weren't in vogue a year ago. And now there's another newly familiar phrase: "forced furlough."

"This is the first time we have even heard the word furlough," said Yvonne Lyons, executive director of the union that represents Hillsborough County teachers.

The county's school district is considering forcing teachers to take a two-day furlough this year to save money.

It isn't alone. More companies are using short-term unpaid leave. Media General Inc., which owns The Tampa Tribune, TBO.com and News Channel 8, announced last month that employees will take 10 days off without pay this year.

The silver lining if you find yourself furloughed in Florida is that you may be entitled to unemployment compensation. The maximum benefit is $300 a week.

Robby Cunningham, spokesman for Florida's Agency for Workforce Innovation, said furloughed employees fall under the same category as other terminated workers when it comes to receiving unemployment benefits.

In other words, if you are furloughed, the state considers you temporarily unemployed.

To qualify for benefits, Cunningham said, applicants must have been employed during the first four quarters of the previous five completed quarters and earned at least $3,400 during that period. In addition, they must have five unpaid days, also known as the "waiting week," under their belt before receiving benefits.

Cunningham recommends filing for unemployment benefits even if your furlough is only for a couple of days in case you face additional furlough time later.

"What happens is if you file a claim, you have a year to exhaust that claim and you have a 'waiting week' at the beginning of the claim and it carries you throughout the whole year," he said.

At the Tampa Bay Workforce Alliance, job counselors said they are getting questions from furloughed employees for the first time.

"They come in and say, 'I've been furloughed. Can I get unemployment benefits?'" said Kathy Meindle, the alliance's career manager.

Meindle said she refers clients to the state's unemployment Web site, www.floridajobs.org.

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