Duval County

Jacksonville man locked out of Florida unemployment website

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Deon Nettles says time and money are running out.

The local father told Action News Jax he was approved for unemployment in June, got his first check about a week later, but since then he’s been locked out.

Florida’s unemployment system continues to cause headaches for Deon Nettles.


“I managed to get approved June 8th and maybe like a week later I received a check for one week, but I hadn’t been able to claim my weeks because my case is still locked,” said Nettles.

Action News Jax spoke to Nettles weeks ago as he struggled to get benefits. He finally received one check, but now they’ve stopped.

It's left him checking and calling the state unemployment office every day for an answer.

“Maybe 5 or 6 calls which the average call lasts about an hour and a half,” Nettles said.

At this point, Nettles says he's owed thousands, and the wait is causing a serious financial problem.

“If something doesn’t happen soon, it’s going to be my only alternative just to move,” said Nettles.

Nettles said he’s now left with few options.

“The way I applied the first time was through the paper applications after sending multiple ones in, so that’s another hurdle I have to cross now. Do I need to go in and try to download another paper application to go back through that process? Because I wasn’t able to do it online at the beginning,” Nettles explained.

Action News Jax called and emailed the Department of Economic Opportunity to find out how Nettles can get back into his account, and to find out other options for people in similar situations. We are still waiting to hear back