Ray Dumont, 26, had been waiting a year for $11,000 in unemployment benefits he applied for but was never able to collect from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.
Both he and his mother, Michelle, work as independent house painters in Panama City Beach but last March, the coronavirus pandemic brought everything to a halt. “Unless it’s new construction you’re not getting any work,” Michelle said. [TRENDING: Fire destroys former US Rep’s home | FDLE: Principal rigged homecoming votes | Can employer make you get vaccine?] A year later finding work is still difficult, Dumont said. “It’s still hard right now,” Dumont said. “I’m just a smaller company I’m still young so all the bigger dogs get it before I do.” With a 1-year-old son to