COLUMBUS – Hundreds of thousands of unemployed Ohioans will receive $300 weekly supplements made possible by the new federal stimulus legislation, approved by Congress just before the end of 2020, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services announced Monday.
The bill, signed on December 27, extends pandemic unemployment programs and benefits through March 13, but updated system programming will be needed to begin sending the supplemental payments, ODJFS Director Kimberly Henderson said.
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claimants will soon be able to resume filing weekly claims and the state will automatically recalculate claims and notify unemployed workers when they are able to certify for their next benefit payment, Henderson said.
Ohioans whose CARES Act benefits expired on Dec. 26 will pick up where they left off and they may file benefits retroactive to the week beginning Dec. 27.
The legislation does not impact traditional unemployment benefits, Henderson said.
The state paid out $7.6 billion in federal PUA benefits to 820,000 Ohioans during the 42 weeks since the COVID-19 forced a near-shutdown of the state’s economy.
As of Dec. 26, 203,392 unemployed workers were receiving the PUA benefits. That number declined to 171,706 during the week of Dec. 27-Jan. 2.