CLEVELAND, Ohio — Thousands of Ohioans are closely watching the courts for a resolution in a years-long legal battle.
This month, a Franklin County judge ordered the state to pay out nearly a billion dollars in federal pandemic unemployment benefits that were pulled by Governor Mike DeWine in 2021. The state is appealing the ruling, while 300,000 people hope to see their share of the funds.
“The assistance was always, always intended to be temporary,” DeWine said in a May 2021 press conference as he announced Ohio was ending its participation in a Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) program.
The federal government had been providing supplemental assistance to workers laid off during the COVID-19 pandemic. By mid-2021, unemployed workers were receiving $300 in federal assistance weekly.
The governor’s decision to end the program in Ohio was touted as a means to jumpstart the economy. It was applauded by some who believed the additional money was encouraging would-be workers to stay home.
“I don’t cast any blame on the individual because the government made a policy that said we’ll pay you more not to work than to go back to work,” said then-Lieutenant Governor John Husted.
Ohio was among the first states to shut down businesses and enforce social distancing guidelines to contain the spread of COVID-19.
In what felt like an instant, Ian Hoy said his life as a musician took a turn toward uncertainty.
“Anything with large amounts of people - we were done with that. So I lost out on thousands of dollars,” Hoy recalled.
In 2020, the Shaker Heights father found himself helping his preschooler with remote learning. He brought in some income through his small business teaching online music lessons. But without a steady income from live performances, he said unemployment benefits were a lifeline for his family.
“I was receiving just a small amount, but that helped because I didn’t have all the income sources I used to have,” he said.
He explained it took years for performing arts to rebound from pandemic restrictions, and when the FPUC program ended, returning to his former work was not an option.
Others raised concerns about a lack of adequate childcare or the contagious virus posing a risk to vulnerable family members.
The outcry culminated in a class action lawsuit filed in July 2021.
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“Whether it was a vocational issue or a daycare issue or an elder care issue, it wasn’t at all that they didn’t want to go back to work,” said Marc Dann, a former Ohio attorney general and counsel for the plaintiffs.
The lawsuit says 300,000 people are owed $3,000 from 10 weeks of missed FPUC payments. It alleges Governor DeWine overstepped his authority when he denied the federal aid.
On Feb. 12, a Franklin County judge agreed and ordered the governor to claim and disperse $900 million from the federal program.
This week, the state appealed the ruling and filed for an injunction with the 10th District Court of Appeals. In August 2021, the same court ruled that the governor has a legal obligation to secure and distribute the FPUC funds to eligible Ohioans.
The plaintiffs are calling on the judge to uphold the ruling. Dann is also requesting the state to secure the $900 million from the U.S. Department of Labor and deposit it with the Franklin County Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas before federal lawmakers redistribute the unspent funds.
“That money will be reappropriated by Congress to other purposes - probably a tax cut for rich people, on the backs of the working class people that we represent,” he said.
He believes paying the money to eligible Ohioans will invigorate the state’s economy and help families still feeling the effects of the pandemic.
“A lot of restaurants either went out of business - and we’ve seen that in Cleveland, a lot of restaurants closing,” Dann said. “A lot of those owners could use that $3,000 to get their business back on track. So what I think is very clear is that people’s economic challenges from the pandemic have not gone away.”
Hoy is back at work now, but he agreed he and others would benefit from the additional money they believe they’re owed.
“I represent small business owners, I represent nonprofits, I represent union workers. And I want the governor to know that we work hard,” he said.
A hearing on the governor’s motion for an injunction is scheduled for Monday afternoon in Franklin County.
