Federal Government Accepts Ohio’s Application for Federal Unemployment Funds

Governor DeWine announced last month that the State of Ohio would submit an application to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for additional funds made available by executive order. Earlier this month, the FEMA accepted the State of Ohio’s application for funding for the additional unemployment benefits. These benefits replace the $600 in CARES Act benefits which expired at the end of July. However, the additional benefits differ in two significant ways from the original CARES Act benefits.

First, the additional federal unemployment benefits are only $300. This is a significant change from the $600 in CARES Act benefits which had been available since the end of March. The change appears to be a compromise, as several groups representing employers had expressed concerns with employers’ ability to re-hire employees who were earning generous unemployment benefits.

Second, claimants are only eligible for the $300 in federal benefits if they first qualify for at least $100 in state benefits. Previously, the CARES Act benefits were available to anyone eligible to receive at least $1 in state unemployment benefits. Claimants can also satisfy this requirement by being eligible to receive at least $100 in one of several federal unemployment programs, including the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program (PUA).

The program is set to expire on December 27, 2020. However, the program will expire earlier if: 1) the federal government spends the full allocated $44 billion; 2) the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund reaches $25 billion; or 3) congress provides for some other type of federal unemployment benefit (similar to the CARES act). Because the amount expended under the program is entirely dependent on the amount of funds requested by states, it is unclear when the program will end, despite the set expiration date.

The attorneys at Fishel Downey Albrecht & Riepenhoff, LLP regularly assist employers with employment issues. If you have any questions about this or any other matter, please contact us at info@fisheldowney.com or call 614-221-1216.