The fight to bring back the $300 weekly additional checks to unemployed Ohioans remains up in the air after an appeals court decided to send the case back to a Franklin County judge.
Advocates to revive the pandemic unemployment assistance said the decision gives reason to start sending the weekly checks again.
The 10th District Court of Appeals ruled that a lower court's decision to deny reinstating the additional unemployment assistance is based on an analysis that is "incomplete."
The appeals court said the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Holbrook did not address two factors in the case; "unjustifiable harm to third parties or any public interest served by the injunction."
Zach Schiller, the research director for the liberal-leaning think tank Policy Matters Ohio, said there's still hope the additional $300 a week will be paid out retroactively.
"I would certainly hope that there could be some benefits that could be paid out beyond those that expire on September 4," Schiller said.
Ohio stopped accepting the federal dollars to pay out the checks at the end of June. Gov. Mike DeWine said vaccines and other protection measures were in place that allowed people to go back to work.
Former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann represents the group, and says as many as 200,000 Ohioans could get the checks if his side prevails.
Another hearing is set for Friday.
Ohio is among the 26 states ending the program early, and most of them are run by Republicans.
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