CLEVELAND — After weeks of wondering what would happen when the state opens again, employers across the state are starting to find out.
The question now is if a businesses open it's doors, will the employees come back?
"There are circumstances where you wouldn't be required to go back to work, but if you don't have a valid health excuse then you would be required to go back to work," Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said during the May 1 press conference.
Right now, Ohio law stops unemployment payments if people can work but refuse to or quit without "a good cause."
Husted said with the slow reopening of the state, there will be a few exceptions. During the daily press conference, Husted pointed to an employee's health as one reason.
"And there are going to be a number of reasons that you want to protect people who are perhaps vulnerable," Husted said. "People who don't have that child care... you need to be accommodating of those folks."
At the press conference, he didn't list anything specific about what that accommodation would be.
The state is asking employers to report workers who refuse to come back. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services has an online portal for employers to use if they decide to report employees. Despite the ask from the state, Husted pushed finding a middle ground to help everyone slowly get back to work.
RELATED: ODJFS wants businesses to report employees who refuse to return to work
News 5 wanted to know what viewers thought. The post received more than 500 comments on the original post asking Ohioans what they thought about the decision. Answers varied; some people were ready to get back to work while others said it was not time.
During the stay at home order, people who weren't working could file for unemployment through the state and get extra federal funds through the CARES Act, but there have been continued problems with the Ohio unemployment benefits site crashing.
RELATED: Ohio unemployment website experiences more technical difficulties
