Ohio Unemployment Benefits Extended, $300 Supplemental Payments Continue

COLUMBUS, Ohio – As part of the most recent COVID-19 federal relief package, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services has started issuing supplemental weekly payments of $300 to those in the state’s traditional unemployment program.

The relief bill extended the number of weeks for unemployment benefits to 53, up from the previous cap of 24 weeks.

“The most recent federal legislation provided straightforward extensions of these programs, which makes them quicker to implement,” said the department’s interim director, Matt Damschroder, in a statement. “The transition for claimants should be seamless.”

For those receiving pandemic unemployment assistance, available to those who don’t qualify for traditional unemployment such as the self-employed, part-time workers and 1099 tax filers, system updates are underway to allow recipients to claim all available weeks covered by the American Rescue Plan Act. The bill extended eligibility for such payments to 79 weeks, ending on Sept. 4. 

Those currently receiving pandemic unemployment assistance through the previous extension can continue to claim benefits through April 10 if they remain unemployed.

The American Rescue Plan Act extended many of the pandemic unemployment programs created by the Cares Act last spring and the Consolidated Appropriations Act in December. Among the affected programs are the mixed earner unemployment compensation program and Ohio’s layoff aversion program, SharedWork Ohio. More information on such programs is available at JFS.Ohio.gov/caa.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.