Gov. DeWine stopped payments 10 weeks before they were set to expire
The Ohio Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Wednesday, May 20th pertaining to an ongoing class action suit against Gov. DeWine for ending federal unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic early. “This case is important to all Ohioans, not just those who had their unemployment compensation terminated early because of the governor’s decision,” said Zach Schiller, research director of Policy Matters Ohio.
During the pandemic, unemployed individuals could receive up to an additional $300 per week through Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC). Gov. DeWine ended the program ten weeks before it was set to expire, claiming that the additional funds were preventing unemployed individuals from reentering the workforce. Three Ohioans who lost FPUC benefits because of his decision filed a class action lawsuit against the governor back in 2021.
State ex rel. Bowling v. DeWineplaintiffs argue that the governor didn’t have the unilateral authority to opt out of the federal benefits early but rather the General Assembly had that authority. In 2021, the plaintiffs asked the Franklin County Common Pleas Court for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to rescind the governor’s order. However, the trial court denied the request and the case was appealed to the Tenth District Court of Appeals. The court reversed the trial court ruling and ordered the state to remain in the program, but the Ohio Attorney General’s Office appealed the decision to the Ohio Supreme Court. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled in November 2022 that “this cause is dismissed, sua sponte, as moot.”
The plaintiffs returned to trial court arguing that the Ohio Supreme Court’s dismissal was related to the preliminary injunction, not the governor’s authority to withdraw from the program. With that, the case was able to move forward giving plaintiffs an avenue to pursue the money, potentially $900 million of withheld funds that FPUC would’ve provided to unemployed workers but for Gov. DeWine’s decision to cut the program short. The trial court ruled in 2025 that claimants are entitled to the money in question, the Tenth District sided with the trial court and the plaintiffs on appeal. Now, it is before the Ohio Supreme Court for another hearing.
“For five years now, Ohio workers have been in litigation limbo waiting to see what’s going to happen to money that was promised to them by the federal government. The COVID-19 pandemic was historic and unprecedented in many ways, especially in how it impacted workers. These funds were necessary for Ohioans to keep their families fed and roofs over their heads when they found themselves out of work due to no fault of their own. At its core, that is the purpose of the unemployment system: to provide stability during times of uncertainty. The federal government stepped in to bolster benefits because people were suffering,” said Schiller. “Though time has passed, the need has not disappeared.”
Policy Matters Ohio previously filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the plaintiffs while it was being heard for the first time in the Tenth District Court of Appeals, and joined in another such brief to the Supreme Court.