Governor Calls for Long-Term Fix to Ohio’s Unemployment System

This week, Gov. Mike DeWine recommended to legislative leaders that Ohio use some of the federal funds received under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to repay the $1.46 billion loaned to the state to cover unemployment compensation (UC) costs. Doing so will free Ohio employers from this burden, the governor said.

The State of Ohio will receive more than $5 billion over two years from the ARPA, with a similar amount going to local governments. The governor’s recommendation to use the funds to repay its UC debt comes after the OMA and its business allies advocated to use the ARPA dollars for such a purpose.

The governor has also asked the General Assembly to address the long-term “structural problems” that have hindered the UC Trust Fund, last deemed solvent in 1974.

Over the past 55 weeks, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services has distributed more than $9.3 billion in unemployment payments from the state. This is in addition to $10.1 billion in supplemental unemployment payments from the federal government.

Meanwhile, Ohio will pay Google Analytics $1.4 million to help combat unemployment fraud, which the state says has cost taxpayers more than $200 million. 4/8/2021