Ohio Appellate Court: Restore $300 Payments
Franklin County Judge Michael Holbrook says he wants to reinstate $300 in weekly federal pandemic unemployment benefits for Ohioans, but his hands are tied. I so badly want to issue the order but I am bound by the rules and I do not have the authority to do so," Holbrook said Friday evening. "It's with the Supreme Court now.
On Tuesday, the 10th District Court of Appeals ruled DeWine didn't have the authority to cut off the benefits. The appeals court also asked Holbrook to consider two additional factors: unjustifiable harm to third parties or any public interest served by restoring the benefits.
On Thursday, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed an appeal with the Ohio Supreme Court, which blocked Holbrook from taking action to reinstate federal unemployment benefits that Gov. Mike DeWine ended early.
The benefits have been the subject of a lawsuit brought by former Ohio attorney general Marc Dann [DEM] to reinstate them. "These are not pawns on a political chessboard," Dann said of Ohioans seeking benefits. "This involved 200,000 people who are struggling every day to solve the kinds of problems that all of us have to solve."
https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2021/08/27/franklin-county-judge-says-he-wants-reinstate-300-weekly-pandemic-benefits-but-his-hands-tied/5615011001/