Ohio Supreme Court dismisses $900 million pandemic benefits dispute

More than 300,000 Ohio residents stand to receive $900 million in federal unemployment benefits, according to a lawsuit that the state’s highest court has finally closed.

The Ohio Supreme Court denied a motion to reconsider its decision on October 28. This marks the final rejection of a legal challenge over the federal program that provided $300 weekly checks during the pandemic. The court had previously dismissed the case twice as moot.

Gov. Mike DeWine ended the state’s administration of the program in May 2021. He acted at the urging of the business community, stopping the payments four months before the federal government concluded the program. This timing created a gap for workers who were still unemployed when the state stopped issuing checks.

Marc Dann, a Democratic former attorney general, filed the original lawsuit. He argued that the funds are already appropriated and remain available. Dann stated that a governor only needs to rescind DeWine’s 2021 termination order to release the money. He described the current standoff as a political science experiment.

Dann said the estimated 300,000 claimants would likely spend the funds immediately. He estimated this would inject nearly one billion dollars into the Ohio economy. He noted that legal aid groups and other amicus participants supported the claimants, while the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and other business organizations opposed them.

All six Republican justices on the court denied the motion to reconsider. Justice Jennifer Brunner, the sole Democrat on the bench, filed a dissenting opinion.