Misclassified employee needs unemloyment benefit help.

Assuming that the deadline has not yet passed, you can file for unemployment, but you are likely to be told that you are not eligible because you were considered to be an independent contractor. If you want to challenge your classification as an independent contractor, you should contact the Internal Revenue Service and assert that your former employer had failed to withhold federal and state taxes from your wage payments. This may start an investigation into your employer's classification of you and other workers as independent contractors. It may result in a ruling by the IRS that you were improperly treated as independent contractors for wage withholding purposes. This will not automatically entitle you to unemployment benefits but might help you overcome your employer's stated position for refusing to grant such benefits to you through the state employment security agency.

Any investigation by the Internal Revenue Service would take time to complete. Therefore, assuming it is not already too late, I would suggest you consider filing for unemployment benefits now. If you are refused on the basis that you were an independent contractor, you should find out how long you have to appeal this determination. If necessary, you should pursue your administrative appeal on a timely basis. Perhaps you can request after you file your administrative appeal that it be suspended pending resolution of your IRS investigation regarding the classification of your status as an independent contractor.

I cannot advise you whether the deadline for filing for unemployment benefits has already passed (or may soon pass) in Florida. I can only suggest that you contact the local office of the state agency right away to find out for yourself.