Ohio Issues $300 Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation Payments

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services has begun issuing supplemental weekly $300 Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, or FPUC benefits, to eligible unemployment claimants following a new system programming update, the department announced Tuesday.

Payments are made possible by the federal Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, signed Dec. 27, 2020.

“Each claim is important to us. We understand the urgency of providing Ohioans with the resources they need to support their families,” said ODJF Director Kimberly Henderson. “We worked quickly to align our system with the new requirements, and I am pleased that we can now provide much-needed relief to eligible claimants.”

The federal CARES Act, signed in March 2020, provided FPUC benefits through July 31, 2020. It also provided up to 39 weeks of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and up to 13 weeks of Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC).

The Consolidated Appropriations Act provided up to an additional 11 weeks of FPUC benefits from Dec. 27, 2020, through March 13, 2021. It also provided an additional up to 11 weeks in PEUC and PUA. System programming is still underway for these new benefits.

Programming has been completed for the $300 add-on for claimants receiving traditional unemployment benefits, as well as for claimants with remaining eligibility under the PEUC and PUA programs, and other unemployment programs.

All claimants will receive all benefits they are eligible for, retroactive to as early as Dec. 27, 2020, the department stated. For more information, visit JFS.ohio.gov/caa.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.