(The Center Square) – For the second time, an Ohio court has ruled the state must reinstate participation in the COVID-19 federal unemployment fund and potentially hand out $900 million in extra unemployment benefits.
The 10th District Court of Appeals sided with plaintiffs and Franklin County Judge Michael Holbrook, requiring Gov. Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to take all necessary actions to reinstate the Federal Pandemic Unemployment program.
The program offered an extra $300 per week to those unemployed between Dec. 27, 2020, and Sept. 6, 2021. DeWine said the program was discouraging Ohioans from returning to work.
Twenty-four other states also opted out of the program.
“We are gratified that the court has affirmed the rights of Ohio workers and families who were unjustly denied critical pandemic relief,” said Marc E. Dann, lead counsel for the plaintiffs. “This decision is a victory for the rule of law and for the thousands of Ohioans who continue to struggle with the economic fallout of COVID-19.”
The state has not said if it will appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court.
If the ruling stands, it opens the door for the distribution of up to $900 million in additional unemployment benefits denied to eligible recipients after the state withdrew early from the program.
Dann said the decision was “especially important in light of the reductions in food assistance and other benefits that are reflected in the state budget” signed by DeWine. He also noted reductions in Medicaid anticipated.
“Injecting up to $3,000 into 300,000 working-class households will temporarily take the sting out of those cuts,” Dann said.
In early February, Holbrook ruled the state must reinstate its participation in the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation fund and get the money the state passed on when DeWine decided to stop the program in June 2021.
In 2021, a judge ruled for the state, but an appeals court overturned that ruling. By the time the case reached the Ohio Supreme Court, the benefits had expired, and the court said the case was moot.
In 2024, Holbrook allowed plaintiffs to bring an amended claim.
