Wagner-Peyser Act

In Florida the majority of Reemployment Assistance claimants are registered as job seekers in the Employ Florida Marketplace within 24 hours of filing for unemployment benefits. This is accomplished via an automated interface between the unemployment compensation system and Employ Florida Marketplace (EFM). Nightly, new Reemployment Assistance claimants’ information is sent to EFM where a basic registration is created. This includes the client’s email address (if supplied) and a partial work history. The career services skills matching functionality of EFM is then utilized to generate an initial listing of current jobs in the system based on the employment information each claimant gave when filing his/her claim.

This generates an automatic email to the claimant that:

• Informs the claimant of his/her EFM log on information;

• Provides a link to the initial list of jobs matched to his/her employment history; and

• Provides the link for him/her to complete a full résumé and begin active use of the system to search and apply for jobs.

This information becomes immediately available to staff who utilize it to contact claimants regarding other career center services that are available. The claimant’s skills information also automatically becomes available to employers who are searching for specific candidates to fill job openings.

In 2013, Florida began requiring all claimants who filed an initial claim online to complete a full work registration in EFM prior to receiving benefit payments. The full work registration requires the claimant to create an individual account with demographic information, list an e–mail address on the EFM account, complete a background wizard to collect education, employment and skills information, and post a résumé. The full registration process provides the LWDBs with more information in which to target reemployment services to claimants. Additionally, some claimants elect to complete an online skills assessment that is available to individuals seeking reemployment assistance and/or job services. The skills assessment measures the individuals; skills, abilities, and career aptitude. The LWDBs utilize the results obtained from the assessment to provide a more customized and tiered level of service. Higher scores

or results from the assessment may indicate that the claimant is equipped with skills to successfully job search and obtain employment before their benefits expire. These individuals will likely require less staff intervention. Lower scores typically indicate a claimant who may need more intensive staff intervention before being job ready.

Any individual who visits a career center looking for work can receive reemployment assistance services, regardless of whether or not the individual has filed an RA claim. Services available to RA claimants are also available to non–claimants.

Worker Profiling and Reemployment Services (WPRS)/Priority Reemployment Planning Program (PREP) Florida’s reemployment services are centered on the Priority Re–Employment Planning Program (PREP), the state’s Worker Profiling and Reemployment Services effort which is operational statewide. A PREP

pool consisting of Reemployment Assistance claimants is created on a weekly basis from the initial claims that have been filed during that week. Prior to the transfer into EFM, the following factors are used in

the profiling methodology to determine those individuals most likely to exhaust their benefits based on: tenure on their most recent employment, education level, total unemployment rate in the local labor market, last occupation being one of the occupations most in decline (O*NET), and Standard Occupational Classification (SOC). Excluded from the PREP pool are:

• Claimants whose program identification is other than Intrastate claimant;

• Interstate claimant;

• Transitional claimant;

• Claimants on recall status within eight weeks of filing their claim; and

• Claimants with a first payment issued more than 42 days after the benefit year beginning date.

Claimants are placed in the PREP pool on the fourth week of their claims for early intervention purposes.

A group assessment interview and the development of a service plan, if necessary, are coupled with the orientation service. Based on the service plan the following services are made available for those claimants who are not job ready: job search workshops, testing, counseling, specific labor market information, and referral to education and or training.

Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) Grant

Under the previous Reemployment and Eligibility Assessment (REA) program, the target population resulting from the WPRS was claimants who were likely to exhaust their RA benefits. Beginning January 1, 2016, Florida is shifting to the Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) program wherein the target population will change to claimants who are most likely to exhaust their RA benefits, along with all transition veterans receiving assistance.

The RESEA program is designed to address the reemployment needs of RA claimants who are most likely to exhaust benefits as well as transitioning veterans receiving unemployment for ex–service members (UCX). In addition to providing a specific set of intensive services to these populations, the RESEA program is designed to prevent and detect erroneous Unemployment Insurance (UI) payments. The RESEA program uses a one–on–one intensive appointment process.

Each RESEA participant receives:

• An orientation about the career center’s services

• An initial assessment to determine the claimant’s strengths, weaknesses and barriers to employment

• Labor market information unique to the participant’s past or future occupation and work experience. If the labor market information shows the participant’s occupation to be in decline, they may be referred for training

• An Employability Development Plan developed jointly by career center staff and the claimant

• Referral to at least one work–search activity such as résumé writing or interviewing workshops

• Referral to training, if needed

There is a feedback loop to the Reemployment Assistance Program for RESEA participants who fail to report to their initial appointment. Reemployment Assistance adjudicators will review the reason for the participant’s failure to report to the career center. Consistent with section 443.091, Florida Statutes, failure to appear at the career center as directed for reemployment services may affect the participant’s eligibility for Reemployment Assistance benefits and services. The Reemployment Assistance adjudicator will issue a determination of ineligibility if there are no extenuating circumstances (such as moved out of state, returned to work, etc.). The determination includes a disqualification for the week in which the claimant failed to report for reemployment services. When an assessment is completed, an automatic notice is generated to the Reemployment Assistance Program to conduct an Eligibility Review Questionnaire to determine continued reemployment assistance benefit eligibility.