The Ohio pandemic unemployment lawsuit is awaiting a ruling from the Ohio Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments on May 20, 2026, in State ex rel. Bowling v. DeWine. At issue is roughly $900 million in federal $300-per-week unemployment payments that about 300,000 Ohioans lost when Governor Mike DeWine pulled the state out of the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program ten weeks early in 2021. If the workers win, the state will be ordered to go back to the U.S. Department of Labor and claim the money for the June 26 to September 6, 2021 window.1Ohio Capital Journal. Ohio Supreme Court Hears Second Round of Arguments Over Pandemic-Era Unemployment Benefits
What DeWine Did in 2021
On May 13, 2021, DeWine announced Ohio would stop participating in FPUC, the federal program adding $300 to weekly unemployment checks during the pandemic. Payments in Ohio ended June 26, 2021. The federal program itself did not expire nationwide until September 6, 2021. DeWine and Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted said employers in retail, restaurants, and manufacturing could not hire, and that the extra federal money was keeping people out of the workforce.2Governing. Cutting Federal Jobless Aid Didn’t Drive Ohioans Back to Work
During those ten weeks, roughly 250,000 Ohioans had been receiving the weekly $300, and the state processed over 1.6 million individual claims. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services estimated as much as $500 million in FPUC money could have been paid out in that window. Plaintiffs’ lawyers now put the total at approximately $900 million.2Governing. Cutting Federal Jobless Aid Didn’t Drive Ohioans Back to Work3Policy Matters Ohio. Ohio Supreme Court to Hear Arguments on Unpaid Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation
Where the Case Stands
Candy Bowling and other named plaintiffs sued in Franklin County Common Pleas Court in July 2021. On February 12, 2025, Judge Michael Holbrook ruled for the workers, finding that FPUC payments were an “available advantage” the state was legally required to secure under R.C. 4141.43(I), and ordering DeWine and the director of Job and Family Services to reinstate Ohio’s participation retroactively.4Franklin County Court of Common Pleas. Holbrook Decision, Case No. 21CV005524
The Tenth District Court of Appeals affirmed on July 1, 2025, and ordered the state to obtain FPUC benefits for the June 26 through September 6, 2021 period.5Ohio Capital Journal. State ex rel. Bowling v. DeWine, 2025-Ohio-2313 The state appealed, and the Ohio Supreme Court accepted jurisdiction on October 29, 2025 in a 5-1 vote.6Signal Ohio. Ohio Supreme Court Takes Case of $900 Million in Unclaimed Pandemic Unemployment Money
At the May 2026 argument, Solicitor General Mathura Sridharan told the justices the case is “quintessentially moot” because the federal program expired nearly five years ago, and said she was “skeptical that the funds are still available.” Andrew Engel, arguing for the workers, said Congress appropriated FPUC funds “without fiscal year limitation,” meaning the money remains available at the Department of Labor until Congress redirects it. Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy pressed the workers on why the case was back at all after the court’s 2022 mootness dismissal, and noted DeWine had provided the required 30-day federal notice in May 2021.7Spectrum News 1. Ohio Supreme Court Weighs Pandemic Unemployment Benefits Case1Ohio Capital Journal. Ohio Supreme Court Hears Second Round of Arguments Over Pandemic-Era Unemployment Benefits
The court has not indicated when it will rule, and a decision could take months.7Spectrum News 1. Ohio Supreme Court Weighs Pandemic Unemployment Benefits Case
The Three Questions the Ruling Turns On
Could the Governor End the Program Unilaterally?
R.C. 4141.43(I), a provision rooted in Depression-era legislation, directs state officials to “secure” every available federal unemployment advantage for Ohio workers. The workers argue that meant DeWine could not walk away from a program the federal government was still funding. The state responds that the governor voluntarily entered the program and kept discretion to leave, particularly since federal rules allowed states to opt out with 30 days’ notice.8Court News Ohio. Preview: State ex rel. Bowling v. DeWine9DannLaw. A Message from Marc Dann About Bowling v. DeWine
Does the 2023 Amendment Change the Answer?
In October 2023, the General Assembly amended the cooperation statute through House Bill 33, adding that “nothing . . . precludes the director from ceasing to participate in any voluntary, optional, special, or emergency program offered by the federal government.” The state argues this retroactively validates DeWine’s decision. The workers counter that the amendment took effect two years after the suit was filed and does not apply retroactively to conduct in 2021.10Buckeye Institute. Buckeye Institute Amicus Brief in Bowling v. DeWine11Policy Matters Ohio. Bowling v. DeWine Amicus Brief
Is There Still Money to Pay?
The state says the case is moot because FPUC expired in September 2021. The workers rely on a September 3, 2021 email from Jim Garner, the Department of Labor’s administrator of unemployment insurance, telling state officials that states could retroactively rescind their termination and resume paying benefits with the federal government covering all costs. Garner reaffirmed the position in a July 2024 declaration, and as of April 2025 the DOL told Congress the guidance was “still valid and in effect.”12House Ways and Means Committee. Letter to DOL Regarding Ohio FPUC Lawsuit11Policy Matters Ohio. Bowling v. DeWine Amicus Brief
Four Republican members of the House Ways and Means Committee, including two Ohio representatives, sent a letter on June 9, 2025 urging the Department of Labor to rescind that guidance. As of the most recent available information, the DOL had not done so.13House Ways and Means Committee. Ways and Means Members Call on Labor Department to Prevent Retroactive Pandemic Unemployment Payments11Policy Matters Ohio. Bowling v. DeWine Amicus Brief
Who Would Get Paid, and How Much
If the workers win, Ohioans who were unemployed at some point between late June and early September 2021 would be eligible for the $300 weekly supplement they missed. The per-person amount depends on how many weeks each claimant qualified during that ten-week window. Roughly 250,000 people were drawing the supplement when Ohio pulled out, and the state processed over 1.6 million individual claims during the gap.7Spectrum News 1. Ohio Supreme Court Weighs Pandemic Unemployment Benefits Case2Governing. Cutting Federal Jobless Aid Didn’t Drive Ohioans Back to Work
No payment process exists yet. Any distribution would follow a Supreme Court ruling for the workers, followed by the state applying to the U.S. Department of Labor to rescind the 2021 termination and obtain the funds. If the court sides with the state, either on mootness or on the governor’s authority, no payments will be made.
Plaintiffs are represented by Marc Dann and Brian Flick of DannLaw, Andrew Engel of Advocate Attorneys, and Thomas Zimmerman Jr. and Matthew De Re of Zimmerman Law Offices. The class is led by Candy Bowling, with named plaintiffs Shawnee Huff, James Parker, Sarah Russell, Sebastian Nash, and Zachary Dunn.9DannLaw. A Message from Marc Dann About Bowling v. DeWine14DannLaw. Supplemental Unemployment Benefits
Why Ohio Is the Only State Still Fighting
At least 26 states cut FPUC payments early, and workers in more than a dozen filed similar lawsuits. According to the House Ways and Means Committee, cases in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia were all dismissed.13House Ways and Means Committee. Ways and Means Members Call on Labor Department to Prevent Retroactive Pandemic Unemployment Payments
Ohio’s case survived because of the state’s cooperation statute and an early appellate ruling on the merits. In Indiana, an appellate court in August 2021 found the state statute plaintiffs relied on did not require continued participation. Ohio’s Tenth District read R.C. 4141.43(I) differently, as imposing an affirmative duty on the state to secure all available federal unemployment advantages, and the Supreme Court’s refusal to vacate that ruling left it as binding precedent for the lower courts.15Business Insider. Indiana Keeps Unemployment Benefits on a Technicality16Supreme Court of Ohio. State ex rel. Bowling v. DeWine, Case No. 2025-1055 Filing
What to Watch For
The next event is the Ohio Supreme Court’s decision, which has no set deadline. State Representatives Sean Brennan and Tristan Rader have publicly urged DeWine to drop the appeal; Brennan renewed the call in November 2025.17Ohio House of Representatives. Rep. Brennan Urges Governor DeWine to Drop Lawsuit Blocking Federal Unemployment Aid for Ohio Workers Absent that, the case ends with the court’s ruling. If you drew unemployment in Ohio between June 26 and September 6, 2021, keep your claim records; any eventual payment process will run through the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and will depend on the state receiving the federal funds.