Hi I would like to know I'm being laid off with a lump sum severance, can I apply for unemployment?

Yes, you can apply, however, in Florida, the severance pay will be treated as an offset against your entitlement to unemployment compensation. Thus, you would not be entitled to unemployment compensation for any week that the severance pay is equal or greater than the weekly benefit. However, there is no reduction in total benefits or available credits on the unemployment benefits claim, according to Florida's Agency for Workforce Innovation. That means an unemployed resident can collect unemployment benefits after his or her severance is depleted, if still unemployed.

When a week of severance pay is less than the weekly benefit amount, the resident is eligible for a benefit payment reduced by the severance pay. For example, if a worker is receiving severance pay for a week equal to $200 but the weekly benefit amount of the claim is $275, the individual can be paid $75 in unemployment benefits.

posted by Archibald Thomas  |  Jan 4, 2019 12:35 PM [EST]