Unemployment benefits

New COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Ohio are at their lowest levels since July but the Ohio Department of Health is keeping an eye on a new omicron variant; the Ohio Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments over whether Gov. Mike DeWine had the legal ability to end the state's participation in a federal pandemic unemployment aid program ahead of a government deadline stopping the payments; the Ohio primary is just six weeks away but candidates still don't know whether the contest will happen on that date; and more stories.

Lawsuits over those checks continue, though the federal program financing them ended last month.

A Franklin County judge has ruled against reinstating the $300 weekly checks for unemployed Ohioans during the pandemic that were discontinued by Gov. Mike DeWine last month. The judge said the law is clear that DeWine wasn’t obligated to continue the program for around 200,000 Ohioans. But the suit isn't over.

For the first time since June, total COVID-19 cases in Ohio have climbed above 50 per 100,000 residents; Ohio’s Dave Yost is among 24 attorneys general urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade; the Davis-Besse nuclear power plant near Toledo is undergoing a special inspection following a series of diesel generator failures and an automatic reactor shutdown; and more stories.

A Franklin County judge is expected to rule in the coming days on a lawsuit that seeks to restore the $300 weekly checks that the federal government was providing to unemployed people through September. Ohio became one of 26 states that ended the program last month.

The city of Akron has chosen a military veteran with decades of law enforcement experience to be the city’s next police chief; after slowing to a trickle, the number of new coronavirus cases in Ohio appears to be on the rise; a central Ohio hospital system says it will require all employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19; and more stories.

Ohio’s unemployment rate is 5%, just slightly higher than it was before the double-digit spike from the pandemic last year. “Help Wanted” and "Now Hiring” signs are common sights, especially at restaurants and retail stores. And some businesses are actively advertising they’ll pay well above Ohio’s minimum wage of $8.80, along with signing bonuses. So why aren’t they finding workers? The answer may surprise you.

A revised health order says fully vaccinated Ohioans will no longer be required wear masks indoors in most situations; Vaccinated Ohioans now must register to qualify for Ohio’s Vax-a-Million lottery system; the state of Ohio overpaid more than $2 billion in unemployment benefits during the pandemic; and more stories.

Gov. Mike DeWine says ending the extra financial help will enable employers to fill jobs, but others think the move is a bad idea.

Ohio’s COVID-19 case rate drops to 120 cases per 100K people; the state will end its participation in the federal program providing $300 of weekly pandemic unemployment funds as of June 26; Ohio’s auditor says the department responsible for unemployment benefits delayed disclosing the number of fraudulent claims it was receiving for months; and more stories.