Bring Back $300 Federal Unemployment Benefits In Ohio: Lawsuit

CLEVELAND — A group of attorneys in Cleveland are suing to compel Gov. Mike DeWine to rejoin a weekly federal unemployment benefits program.

Ohio is one of 27 states, all led by Republican governors, leaving the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program. Unemployed Ohioans were receiving an additional $300 per unemployment check via the program, but DeWine's decision slashed those benefits.

Marc Dann and Brian Flick of DannLaw, and Andrew Engel of Advocate Attorneys, filed the lawsuit in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday.

“Along with jeopardizing the personal and financial well-being of Ohioans who are struggling to recover from the pandemic, DeWine and Damschroder’s callous and politically-motivated decision to terminate the federal benefits represents a willful and blatant violation of Ohio law,” Flick said.

The attorneys cited similar lawsuits filed in Indiana, Texas and Maryland, and argued Indiana has already been compelled to reinstate the additional $300 per unemployment check. Ohio's statutes are worded similarly to Indiana's, the attorneys said.

The lawsuit also calls for a temporary restraining order barring DeWine and the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services from again denying Ohioans their federal unemployment benefits.

When DeWine announced he would leave the federal unemployment program, he said the assistance was always designed to be temporary. He then launched Ohio's controversial Vax-a-Million program to spur vaccinations.

A spokesperson for DeWine's office declined to comment on the lawsuit.