(UnitedVoice.com) – A few months ago, Republican governors around the country announced plans to end the expanded unemployment benefits in their states. Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt (R) was one of the leaders who stopped the flow of extra cash. Now, a judge has ruled that he must start accepting — and distributing — federal aid again.
On August 6, District Judge Anthony Bonner Jr. issued a preliminary injunction. It orders Stitt to restore the $300-per-week extended unemployment payments. The judge prohibited the state from ending them until he either makes a decision about the larger lawsuit or the benefits run out in September. Bonner ordered the state to “notify the US Department of Labor immediately to reinstate” them.
Oklahoma must resume paying $300 in additional unemployment benefits each week to those in the state who are out of work due to the coronavirus pandemic, District Judge Anthony Bonner Jr. ruled, The Oklahoman reported over the weekend. https://t.co/azTzUgDKiC
— Newsmax (@newsmax) August 9, 2021
Attorneys for Oklahoma’s unemployment agency asked Judge Bonner to stay his order, which would have ended the payments again. He hasn’t responded, but it’s unlikely he’ll do that.
Bonner’s judgement only pertains to the case in Oklahoma and those benefits, but it could be an inkling of what’s to come. In Florida, a group of residents is suing Republican Governor Ron DeSantis (R) over his decision to end the $300 weekly payments.
Residents in Maryland and Texas have filed similar lawsuits. If the judges in those cases rule as Bonner has, unemployed Americans might once again be incentivized to sit home. That could severely impact the job market which is already experiencing a labor shortage and all of the economic gains the country has made could be gone.
Copyright 2021, UnitedVoice.com
