Ohioans Previously Denied Unemployment Aid Could Now Qualify

CLEVELAND — Approximately 5,000 Ohioans could finally be getting pandemic unemployment assistance after initially being denied by the state.

On Monday, the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services (ODJFS) announced it would contact thousands of Ohiaons who were denied unemployment aid prior to February 2021, but who may now be eligible for assistance as a result of new COVID-19 reasons established by the Department of Labor.

“In February of this year, the Department of Labor expanded eligibility for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program,” said ODJFS Director Matt Damschroder. “As we continue to work through the unprecedented level of activity cause by the pandemic, we now have the opportunity to reach back out to those who may have been eligible under the expanded eligibility.”

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Department officials have already started notifying some impacted Ohioans and are placing worksheets in their accounts to help them complete the application process. The worksheets are loaded into the unemployment system in batches, ODJFS said in a statement, so it could take a week before it hits an account.

Anyone who suspects they're eligible for unemployment aid now should log into their pandemic unemployment assistance account and look in their inbox for a worksheet. When the worksheet is available, you only have five business days to complete it.

The state unemployment program did not provide benefits for self-employed workers, 1099 tax filers and part-time workers, but an expanded federal program did. The program ended in early September, so this assistance is retroactive.