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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndiana will continue paying out the extra $300 in weekly federal unemployment payments despite a Tuesday court ruling that the state’s Republican governor had the authority to cut off the benefit.
Those payments will continue because the state must give recipients a 30-day notice that they will stop, which extends past the scheduled Sept. 6 end of the federal pandemic unemployment programs, Indiana Department of Workforce Development spokesman Scott Olson said.
Gov. Eric Holcomb decided to withdraw Indiana from the programs in mid-May, but a Marion County judge ruled that Indiana law requires the state to procure all available federal unemployment benefits for residents.
The state resumed making the payments in July after an Indiana Court of Appeals panel turned down the state’s request to immediately block the order.
A different appeals court panel, however, overturned that judge’s decision in a 3-0 ruling released Tuesday, finding that the federal pandemic unemployment programs were intended to be temporary and differed from the already existing unemployment benefits system.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of several unemployed workers and the group Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis, also forced the state to resume its participation in federal programs that makes gig workers and the self-employed eligible for assistance for the first time and another that provides extra weeks of aid.
Holcomb sought to withdraw the state from all those programs, saying Indiana businesses had many job openings they were struggling to fill.
Holcomb praised the appeals court ruling, saying it confirmed he acted properly by withdrawing from the optional federal programs.
“These programs assisted Hoosiers in a time when some businesses were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Holcomb said in a statement. “Since that time, businesses are adapting so that they can remain open while maintaining a safe environment. Currently, Indiana has more than 143,000 job openings and I know there are even more out there.”
More than two dozen Republican-led states terminated early their involvement in the federal programs that Congress adopted in March 2020 to support workers affected by the pandemic.
The $300 payments have more than doubled Indiana’s average $280 weekly unemployment payment, which has a maximum of $390 a week. Nearly 170,000 people in Indiana collected the extra $300 payments before Holcomb announced the state’s withdrawal in May, according to the state’s Department of Workforce Development.
State officials have said those collecting the extra payments would not be asked to refund the money regardless of the outcome of the legal fight.
Attorneys who filed the lawsuit against the state didn’t immediately comment on the appeals court’s ruling.
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So send the notices out regardless … so Indiana can stop the payments September 17th … after the federal government extends the benefits past the September 6th expiration.
Yes. One can’t pass a building, restaurant or office part without seeing help wanted signs with signing bonuses. Small business owners are now struggling even more, especially in the service industries, because people won’t work. Kudos to those people who are seeking and getting jobs. Maybe in a completely different field from which they were unfortunately let go last year.
Te reason cited for stopping the extra benefits is moot. 22 state stopped the extra benefits and none of them saw increased participation in the work force. So by stopping the extra benefits, Indiana only hurt the little guy, cheated the state out of extra benefits, BUT they did make a political point! Ding Ding Ding…. We have a winner! Make sure a Republican gets re-elected on unproven lies.
OK, Dan M. So, if we accept your unsupported claim as true that no measurable increase in labor participation occurred in any of these states (although i doubt it) what do you suggest we applaud then?? The fact that liberal policies and handouts have led people to decide they no longer care to work and contribute to society, regardless of whether they get extra payments or not?!?! Oh, yes, ding ding ding! Now that’s a real winner there! Make sure the libbies get elected so more people can stay home on the backs of hard working Americans.
You really have no clue how the other half lives and works, do you? If working folks don’t have daycare, then only one worker in the household can work while the other stays home with the kids no matter how much the job pays.
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So day care matters, and guess what? It’s a challenging and low-paid occupation that is nonetheless essential. Daycare has been hit hard by the pandemic…when people were staying home, the daycare folks lost their income and had to find other work.
Chris B. Well giving out extra unemployment sure isn’t going to draw new daycare workers into the market is it? And I have 4 children so I know all about daycare. You should not be so presumptive about who you are addressing. I also know that daycare is expensive, and if your job does not pay much, then staying home and avoiding the cost of daycare can help offset the lack of income pretty substantially. There are also multiple shifts people can work and a lot of other ways (maybe not so fun, but I have done them) that help to make ends meet, other than taking a check from the tax dollars of the hard working folks who are out there trying to make a living on their own dollar.
Dan, your Village is looking for you
Good comment, M G. and Chuck…not that Dan M. and Chris B. have any idea what you’re talking about….