Additional unemployment benefits available
May 13, 2020
The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services has announced the expansion of unemployment benefits to those who had previously not qualified.
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, funded by the federal CARES Act, will make benefits available to those that didn’t qualify for traditional unemployment in Ohio, such as self-employed individuals, 1099 tax filers and part-time workers.
Recipients will also be able to receive the additional $600 per week federal payment through July 25.
Kimberly Hall, Director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, says that she appreciates everyone’s patience as the state built the new system to benefit from the federal expansions to unemployment compensation.
“We encourage anyone who believes they may be eligible to apply,” said Hall.
An individual may also be eligible to receive retroactive benefits even if they were recently called back to work.
The program has no minimum income requirements and is only available for those that are not eligible for regular unemployment benefits.
For more details on the program and all criteria to qualify, visit the PUA site at pua.unemployment.ohio.gov
According to the state, over the last seven weeks, ODJFS has received more than 1 million initial regular unemployment claims, more than the previous three years combined.
Gerald Gebhart • May 18, 2020 at 2:39 pm
I live in Guernsey County. I have tried to apply for the Pandemic benefits. I was able to create a login and a password. I filled out all of the required information.
I can no longer get anywhere on the site. I re-enter all of the information over and over and over for days on end.
The site sends me an email that contains the website link.
I click on that link. That takes me to the main page. It requires me to fill in all the information again as if I was starting over.
The message I again receive through my email is that my email address is not recognized. It also says that the email/login is already in their system.
How in God’s name do you get anywhere on this site?
I have created a login and a password.