Unemployment records show dropped calls, millions spent

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Records obtained by 9 Investigates show the two contracts signed by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity in an effort to increase staffing.

One contract with TeleForce LLC is for up to $79 million, while a second contact with Faneuil LLC is for up to $17 million. Both are to provide support for the state’s beleaguered unemployment service by providing overflow call service.

The contracts also show just how overwhelmed the state was at the end of March. In one contract, a chart shows just how many calls were answered, abandoned, and blocked. The chart for the week ending March 28 shows out of 864,373 calls, 8,935 were answered, 9,804 were abandoned, and 771,605 were blocked.

“I applied on March 25 and my fiancée applied on March 15,” says Samantha Gallagher who was laid off from her job at a hotel in March. “This morning and yesterday morning I called super early right when they open at 7:30 and they said my wait time would be 16 minutes I was on hold for an hour and 45 minutes before my cordless phone died.”

Read: Health care center that serves Orange County’s most vulnerable struggles to get COVID-19 test kits

The internal document comes as new numbers from DEO show slight progress. According to DEO’s numbers released Wednesday, 15.9% of claims have been paid, 28.5% of claims have been processed, 27% have been ruled ineligible for state benefits, and a total of $143,000 has been paid out.

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