Its The Latest Step In The Fight Over The Federal Money Issued As Extra Help During The Pandemic
The state has filed an appeal with the Ohio Supreme Court in the case over its decision to end the extra $300 a week in additional unemployment benefits in late June.
Attorney General Dave Yost is asking the Ohio Supreme Court to reverse a decision from the 10th District Court of Appeals, which ruled a Franklin County judge must give the case further review.
The state argues that Gov. Mike DeWine had the legal right to stop accepting the federal funds for the program, which he said was important to help unemployed Ohioans during the pandemic last year.
But in ending those checks, DeWine said the COVID-19 vaccine and other protective measures make it safe for people to return to work.
The 10th District held that Gov. DeWine *must* accept supplemental unemployment benefits under the CARES Actfunds that are optional under the terms of the ActThe decision was contrary to lawand businesses cannot find employeees. Today, we appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court
Some States Dropping Out Of Fpuc
For you to receive FPUC funds, your state or territory had to sign up. According to the DOL, as of April 29, 2020, all 50 states and the District of Columbia were signed up and paying FPUC benefits.
Recently, however, some states, have announced plans to stop providing temporary federal unemployment benefits, including FPUC program funds. These statesâwhich according to Forbes, include North Dakota, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, South Carolina, and Montanaâsay extra and extended unemployment benefits discourage unemployed workers from returning to the workforce. Observers expect additional states to discontinue extended or expanded benefits.
Some states are reinstating requirements that out-of-work benefits recipients prove they are looking for work, a stipulation most states dropped after the pandemic hit in 2020. Some states and businesses are offering sign-up bonuses to encourage workers to apply for available jobs.
Meanwhile, DOL Secretary, Marty Walsh told the Washington Post that the department had “not seen evidence that enhanced unemployment benefits are keeping people out of the labor force.”
A working research paper by Professor Arindrajit Dube of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, suggests that low unemployment insurance benefits do not increase employment levels more than happens in states with high levels of unemployment insurance benefits.
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Ohio Department Of Job And Family Services Early End To Extra $300 Weekly Benefits 2021 Pua And Peuc Extensions Remain News And Updates
The unemployment systems and payments for Ohioans is under the purview of the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services and is funded from the Ohio Unemployment Trust Fund. The money in the fund comes from a tax that employers pay the state. For the past year state unemployment insurance payments have been supplemented by several federally funded pandemic enhanced unemployment benefits programs that were approved across multiple COVID relief stimulus bills. You can see more on each of these below.
Pandemic Hardship Is About To Get A Lot Worse For Millions Of Out
By Jeffrey Kucik, University of Arizona and Don Leonard, The Ohio State University
Millions of unemployed Americans lost pandemic-related jobless benefits as of Labor Day just as surging cases of coronavirus slow the pace of hiring.
In all, an estimated 8.8 million people stopped receiving unemployment insurance beginning on Sept. 6, 2021. Millions more will no longer get the extra US$300 a week the federal government has been providing to supplement state benefits.
But with the pandemic still raging thanks to the rise of the delta variant, particularly in Southern states, the expiration of these benefits seems ill-timed. While some claim that the aid is no longer needed and doing more harm than good, webelieve that the data tell another story.
Benefits lost
Three federal programs created to support workers hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic and related lockdowns expired on Sept. 6:
All told, the end of these programs may affect 35 million people when you include families of the unemployed.
Dropping aid didnt boost jobs growth
Critics of these federal supplemental benefits claim they reward Americans for not working by offering more in aid than theyd get from a job. This is why many Republican governors opted to drop out of one or more of the federal programs in recent months.
We see Help Wanted signs everywhere, Idaho Republican Gov. Brad Little said on May 11, 2021. We do not want people on unemployment. We want people working.
Jobless Americans still need support
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Florida To Turn Away $300 Federal Unemployment Aid Next Month
TALLAHASSEE Floridas unemployment agency announced Monday that it would stop jobless Floridians from receiving an additional $300 in weekly benefits next month.
The Department of Economic Opportunity announced the state would stop participating in the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program starting the week of June 27.
The program, which was set to run out in September, has been giving jobless Floridians an additional $300 in weekly benefits on top of eligible state benefits, which top out at $275 per week, one of the lowest rates in the nation.
Beginning June 26, 2021, will no longer participate in providing the $300 Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation benefits in addition to Reemployment Assistance weekly benefits. Read more:
Florida DEO May 24, 2021
The state said it made the decision to end the program early to get Floridians to return to work. Companies have been experiencing labor shortages in the wake of the pandemic, and business groups have been asking states to do away with the benefits.
The jobs are there, Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a news conference on Monday. Im confident, with almost half a million job openings, that people are going to be able to get a job and get back to work.
At least 22 states, all with Republican governors, have already said they were withdrawing early from the federal program.
Im hopeful were a much bigger piece of the puzzle than we think, Flanigan said.
Which Unemployment Aid Was Extended
The rescue package extended benefits for two critical unemployment programs. The first is Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a program created to provide unemployment benefits to gig workers and others typically not eligible.
The second is Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, which extended the typical 26 weeks of state benefits by an extra 13 weeks under the CARES Act, passed in March.
Base pay: Minimum wage set to rise in 20 states, 32 localities as growing number adopt $15 an hour
Both programs will now last at least an additional 11 weeks, from Dec. 27 through March 14, which means the 39-week benefit limit for PEUC has been increased to 50 weeks. Those receiving unemployment under PUA or PEUC on March 14 who havent exhausted their 50 weeks can continue to claim benefits until April 5.
Some states may take longer to reinstate PUA and PEUC, but recipients should still get their money retroactively, experts say.
When will I get the $300 bonus?
How long it will take for jobless workers to receive the funds will be left to state unemployment departments. The additional $300 per week will start reaching workers by mid-January in most states, experts estimate.
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Eligibility: Who Qualifies For The Extra $300 Unemployment Benefit
To be eligible for the $300 a week benefit, you need to be receiving unemployment benefits from any of these programs:
- Unemployment compensation, including regular State Unemployment Compensation, Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees , and Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Service members
- Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation
- Pandemic Unemployment Assistance
- Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation
- Payments under the Self-Employment Assistance program.
Low-wage, part-time or seasonal workers may fail to qualify for the extra $300.
How Much Are Unemployment Benefits In My State
There isnt a universal amount for unemployment benefits in the U.S. each state uses its own formula. You wont know how much you will receive from your state until after you apply. Typically, the amount you receive in unemployment aid is based on a percentage of your previous 12 months of income. Theres a maximum weekly benefit amount, so you will default to the maximum amount if your weekly payout from your most recent job is larger than that. Unemployment benefits are taxed as if they are wages. Depending on where you live, you may also have to pay state income taxes on your unemployment benefits.
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When Will The Extra $300 Weekly Fpuc Unemployment Stimulus End In My State
The Biden ARP stimulus bill continued the supplementary $300 Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation payment that was already in place for another 25 weeks. In most states this will cover the benefit weeks ending March 20th, 2021 to September 4th, 2021. However per the table below many states are ending this payment much earlier than planned.
Eligibility criteria is the same as earlier FPUC payments where the claimant has to be getting $1 from any underlying regular state or federally funded unemployment benefit program during the 25 week coverage period. Any payments will be retroactively caught up for eligible weeks.
Covered in this Article:
Ohio Starts $300 Supplemental Unemployment Payments Applications May Start Friday For Others Closed Out In December
CLEVELAND, Ohio The director of Ohios unemployment office said Wednesday that supplemental unemployment payments of $300 a week have begun for some people, and others left out because they exhausted their benefits before the new stimulus package became law Dec. 27 could be able to begin filing claims as soon as Friday.
In addition to $600 payments for most American adults, working or not working, the stimulus package extended pandemic-related unemployment programs and tacked on an additional $300 a week for up to 11 weeks.
Kimberly Henderson, director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, said new rules caused delays implementing the program, but that she expected the process to be reopened on Friday, with payments being retroactive to all eligible weeks.
Meanwhile, those who had not exhausted their PUA benefits before the Dec. 27 expiration of the program can go ahead and file claims, Henderson said, noting that some payments have already been made.
PUA was set up for people who otherwise would not qualify for unemployment, because they were either self-employed or their wage income was too low. Under the CARES Act, it ran for 39 weeks. Those who exhausted all 39 weeks must wait to reapply, but their payments will be retroactive, Henderson said.
In both cases, Henderson has said no new applications will be accepted after March 13, and both extensions will expire April 10.
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Did Cutting Funds Get Americans Back To Work
As legal battles over enhanced unemployment benefits continue in states including Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas, economists say its too early to tell whether the GOP argument that ending the payments early will get Americans back to work more quickly and help to fill labor shortages holds up.
The Labor Departments June jobs report found 850,000 new jobs were added largely before federal benefits were cut. That shows steady growth, contrary to claims that enhanced unemployment was keeping people home, said Andrew Stettner, a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, a progressive, non-partisan think tank.
The number of unemployment beneficiaries in states that cut the extra $300 a week in federal benefits, according to a June 27 analysis by The Wall Street Journal. However, Stettner noted, unemployment was already on the decline in many of these states anyway, and initial claims have also gone up in some states that discontinued the payments, such as Texas. Looking at the last two weeks of unemployment data, he said, I dont see clear evidence that taking the benefits away is getting people back to work.
A recent study conducted by Indeed found that unemployment benefits were among a number of factors keeping some people from going back to work, but they fell below COVID fears and child care as the most common reasons people gave for putting their job search on the backburner.
The Looming Question: Whats Next
* Please keep in mind that all text is machine-generated, we do not bear any responsibility, and you should always get advice from professionals before taking any actions.
* Please keep in mind that all text is machine-generated, we do not bear any responsibility, and you should always get advice from professionals before taking any actions
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Is There A New Verification Process For Pua Applications
Jobless Americans who were receiving PUA benefits must verify their eligibility for the program this year.
Under an anti-fraud provision in the relief package, those currently getting PUA benefits will have 90 days to submit documents proving their continuing eligibility for the program. Those that dont could be at risk of having to pay back any funds they receive after the bills enactment in December.
Its unclear what documentation will be sufficient to satisfy the requirement, experts say.
People who apply for PUA for the first time starting Jan. 31 will have 21 days to submit their verification documents, according to CNBC.
What Happened In States That Cut Off Enhanced Unemployment Benefits Early
Governors in roughly two dozen states ended federal aid early over the summer, claiming that the extra unemployment benefits were disincentivizing people from finding work and led to labor shortages. Around that time, the economy and the job market were beginning to show solid signs of growth. Jobs were added to the economy overall, although many retail and dining businesses struggled to hire employees and continue to struggle.
Several studies over the last year have disputed claims that jobless benefits deter people from returning to work. Labor Department data released in August shows people living in states that cut off benefits early havent rushed back to work. Job growth in states that cut enhanced jobless benefits has been parallel to states that kept the benefits.
In a Arindrajit Dube, a University of Massachusetts economist, found in states that ended federal programs early, adults receiving extra unemployment benefits fell by 2.2%, but employment didnt increase. At the same time, employment rose by 0.2% in states that didnt end extended unemployment insurance prematurely.
Because COVID-19 cases have started to rise again due to the Delta variant, theres a newfound uncertainty around the economy and job market.
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What Happened When Some Gop
For most of the last year, expanded federal unemployment benefits helped keep Tammy Foster afloat while she was at home due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The 47-year-old, who lives in Joplin, Missouri, was forced to leave her job as a robotics machine operator for a dairy company after a doctor advised her that it was unsafe for her to work during the pandemic due to complicating medical conditions, like diabetes. While state and federal unemployment assistance did not equal what she had been making at her previous job, which paid $20 an hour, it helped cover rent, food, utilities during the months she was not working.
But when Missouri Gov. Mike Parson announced the state would stop providing additional federal unemployment benefits of $300 a week starting on June 12, Foster could no longer afford to stay home to stay safe. She and her husband both found lower-paying jobs at another food-manufacturing company in the area.
Foster had been working for four days when she started feeling ill. On July 6, she tested positive for COVID-19.
The moment I was forced to go back to work, my life was put at risk, said Foster, who had received the first dose of the Moderna vaccine before contracting the coronavirus.
On Your Side Viewers Question Missing $300 Weekly Federal Unemployment Benefit
BUFFALO, N.Y. Dozens of 2 On Your Side viewers contacted us Monday morning when they noticed their unemployment benefits did not include the extra weekly $300 payment from the federal government.
Our inboxes were flooded with people wondering where the extra $300 was. They got their normal amount from the state, but didn’t get the $300 they have been getting from the federal government.
Fred S. is one of the viewers who emailed. He said, “I have certified for the week ending March 21. I received my regular benefit, but not the $300 extended benefit. Can you tell me when I will receive it?”
And Michael G. said, “So the extra $300 for unemployment didn’t go on our accounts. Do you have any information as to why? Or when that might start up again?”
For answers we went to the New York State Department of Labor. A spokesperson got back to us saying they have been contacting people and posting about this on social media.
The spokesperson said, “As the American Rescue Plan extension kicks in this week, some claimants who certified Sunday may see a one to two day delay in their payment. Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation payments will still be paid THIS week. No delays are anticipated for claimants who certify on Monday or later this week.”
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