Unemployment: PUA payments to begin going out

A weekend upgrade to the state’s unemployment system will allow claimants to log into their accounts, file claims and receive payments for which they are eligible under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program passed back in December.

The PUA program supports business owners, self-employed workers, independent contractors and others who don’t qualify for traditional unemployment benefits.

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“Time has been of the essence as we worked to implement the programming necessary to provide these benefits,” said Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Director Kimberly Henderson. “Those eligible will receive all benefits they are entitled to, in addition to the new weekly $300 supplemental payments available to all unemployment insurance beneficiaries through recent federal legislation.”

The PUA program was originally included as part of the CARES Act passed last March, however the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, which was signed into law in late December, extended and amended the program.

The state said the delay with the amended program came because of “integrity requirements” under the new law. The details of those integrity requirements were not immediately released.

Ohio, like many across the country, has been battling unemployment fraud during the pandemic and even issued a warning to Ohioans that they may receive a tax form saying they were paid unemployment, when in fact they were not.

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If you get a 1099-G form and did not receive unemployment in 2020, you should go to unemployment.ohio.gov and click the “report identity theft” button to complete a form.

Cox Media Group