During the COVID pandemic, a lot of people in Ohio were either fired or could not work due to the shutdown of the businesses, and that was pretty much the case in the entire country, or should we say the entire “world.” Though, in the case of Ohio, in order to help, the federal government began special programs that provided extra unemployment money. Well, straight up, that sounds good, and you’d agree on that too. And you’ll be kinda glad to know that the programs were designed for everyone, even those who usually would not qualify for the regular unemployment money such as gig workers, part-timers, and freelancers.
But, and yes, it is a big BUT, you see, back in 2021, Governor Mike DeWine of Ohio decided to end the issuance of the extra money early, saying that it was discouraging people from getting back to work. Though, one thing to note here is that this did not go down well with a lot of Ohioans who were still struggling, and thus began this long series of litigations. And this was what turned into this big and famous Ohio Pandemic Unemployment Benefits Lawsuit. So, let’s get to some important details of this case, shall we?
Wait, What Were These Benefits Anyway?
Well, during the pandemic phase, the government actually gave out some extra money through programs like PUA (Pandemic Unemployment Assistance) and FPUC (Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation). But how much was it? Like on a per-person basis? Oh, as per FPUC, they gave out somewhere around $300 each week to unemployed individuals.
Here’s Where the Legal Drama Started
When this funding was stopped, and a lot of people didn’t get those $300 each week because they were unemployed at the moment, well, these people went ahead and filed this Ohio Pandemic Unemployment Benefits Lawsuit with the help of Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann and a law firm called Zimmerman Law Offices.
Well, if we talk about the estimates here, you see, as per the claims of this lawsuit, as many as 300,000 people were affected from this decision of Governor Mike DeWine. And if you do the calculation here, well, that amounts to somewhere around a total of $900 million in unpaid benefits.
What’s Happened in Court So Far?
Now it is 2025, and this drama has been going on since 2021, so, sure enough, there has been a lot of back and forth in the courts. Like, back in 2021, we saw that one court already said Ohio had to go after that money. And then, very recently, we saw that a judge down there in Franklin County once again ordered Governor DeWine to take all the steps needed to get the $900 million and pay it out to the people.
But so far, we saw that Ohio’s leaders still didn’t agree with the court decisions. And sure enough, they went on to appeal that decision. So, the update regarding this case is that in March 2025, the same judge said that these things need more time and inspection before the final conclusion. So for now, no one’s getting the money yet. It’s not unlike the ongoing NetEase Marvel Rivals Lawsuit, where extended legal disputes are also impacting livelihoods and business reputations while the courts take time to reach final decisions.
Related Articles :
- McDonald’s Hispanic Heritage Lawsuit
- Jason Arrington Lawsuit
- Karoline Leavitt Lawsuit
- HGTV Stars Lawsuit Settlement
Read related cases in our Other Major Lawsuits & Disputes section.
