Ohio Residents May Receive Up to $3,000 in Unemployment Benefits as Court Case Moves Forward
More than 300,000 Ohio residents could receive up to $3,000 each, depending on a forthcoming state Supreme Court decision regarding the COVID-19 unemployment benefits. The possibility moved closer after the court agreed to hear the case, following lower-court rulings that Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s decision to end the unemployment program 10 weeks before it was scheduled to stop violated state law. State residents did not receive an additional $900 million in federal payments. The federal government had agreed that unemployment benefits of eligible workers could be sent out by each state. A Franklin County judge ordered the funds to be sent in February, and another 10th District Court of Appeals upheld that decision in June.
” Ohioans are seeking restitution after the state’s expanded unemployment benefits program was cut short by Gov. DeWine,” Kevin Thompson, the CEO of 9i Capital Group and the host of the 9innings podcast, said. ” The case reached the state’s Supreme Court after lower courts ruled that the governor may have violated state law by refusing to distribute federal funds designated for those benefits.”
The governor initially halted the program due to concerns that the extra benefits were contributing to labor shortage. But according to plaintiffs, the law mandates that the governor had to distribute the federal benefits when available, without any other possible labor considerations.
” This isn’t really about whether the money helped or hurt the economy back then,” financial expert Michael Ryan said. ” It’s about whether a promise made is a promise kept.” Gov. DeWine argued the extra $300 weekly discouraged work and tightened labor markets. That’s a policy call. But Ohio law from the 1930s doesn’t give governors wiggle room on that. It mandates accepting federal unemployment dollars.
Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin said, ” While many will see this as a case of whether or not money is owed, it’s more on did the governor break the law by halting payment early. The decision could have long-term effects in future situations where state resources are allocated for specific needs during periods like the pandemic.”
