FRANKLIN COUNTY, Ohio — A policy choice from Gov. Mike DeWine has left close to $1 billion in unused pandemic unemployment assistance that has been appropriated for Ohioans sitting in an account with the U.S. Department of Labor.
Now, 320,000 Ohioans are fighting for that money in a class action lawsuit filed in Franklin County against the governor and the state. It's over money they would have gotten in 2021 if the state hadn't opted out of receiving it in July through September of that year.
"The extra pandemic money from the federal government was a lifeline," Candy Bowling, the named plaintiff in the lawsuit, told 3News Investigates. "I only got like $300 from the state and I was used to bringing in over $600 a week, so it wasn't really even half of what I was making before (becoming unemployed during the pandemic)."
The federal unemployment assistance at issue in this lawsuit was part of pandemic relief efforts that gave unemployed Ohioans an extra $300 per week, until the state stopped accepting that money.
"When the governor announced he was going to cut that off, it just kind of angered me," Bowling said. "Why would you give up assistance from the federal government that was meant to help the people and the state of Ohio? I mean, it not only helps the people pay their bills, buy their food, get medications, but it also helped the businesses stay afloat."
Attorney Marc Dann, who has taken up this case, says this suit is over $300 per week for 10 weeks. That amounts to $3,000 each for 320,000 Ohioans, which adds up to $960 million in federal money.
I asked DeWine's office why he would refuse to accept this money that's been appropriated for Ohioans, and his press secretary Dan Tierney told 3News Investigates:
"The July 2021 to September 2021 time period referenced was after the pandemic emergency had ended. … In recent years, including those in question, Ohio has had more open jobs than workers to fill them. Providing emergency supplemental benefits well after the conditions necessitating them had ended was sending the wrong message when Ohio was open for business."
Dann disagrees.
"They continue to take the position, which the data didn't support, that people who were receiving unemployment benefits were unlikely to apply for jobs," he said. "The fact is, anybody who's been unemployed understands that's not the case."
In addition to pushing back on the state's allegations that assistance kept people form working, The Dann Law Firm says Ohio law in 2021 required the governor to accept and distribute this money.
"The 10th District Court of Appeals has said that they have to do everything possible to take every, get every possible benefit," Dann explained.
Ohio law changed in October of 2023 to spell out that the state is not required to accept federal benefits, specifically those that were part of coronavirus relief efforts. A provision was added to the Ohio Revised Code Section 4141.43, which reads in relevant part:
"(2) Nothing in division (I)(1) of this section requires the director to participate in, nor precludes the director from ceasing to participate in, any voluntary, optional, special, or emergency program offered by the federal government, including programs offered under any of the federal acts listed in division (I)(1) of this section, the 'Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act,' 15 U.S.C. 9023, or any other federal program enacted to address exceptional unemployment conditions."
When we asked if the ongoing lawsuit had anything to do with the change in law, DeWine's spokesperson told me, "I must decline comment on the pending litigation."
Dann Law attorney Brian Flick says this change in law only strengthens their clients' case, as it makes clear that the law prior to the change did not allow for the state to refuse the funds at issue.
"It is clear that Gov. DeWine violated the law," Flick stated. "Gov. DeWine should be made to make the ask to the Department of Labor for these funds."
"The U.S. Department of Labor assured us in writing, by way of an affidavit, that the funds are still available and appropriated, which was a pleasant surprise," Dann added, "and that all Gov. DeWine had to do is ask for it and they will send it."
Dann told 3News Investigates that Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Michael Holbrook could rule on the case at any minute, and every time he gets a notification the county, he's hoping it means victory for his clients.