New Ohio Unemployment Benefit Requirements Making an Impact? Not Yet. Enforcement Delayed

By Andrew J. Cleves*

The Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services (“ODJFS”) recently announced it will delay enforcement of new unemployment benefit regulations.  In 2013, the Ohio legislature amended Ohio Revised Code § 4141.29, which details the steps Ohioans must take to maintain unemployment benefits.  The new rules, which took effect on April 11, 2014, established a series of deadlines claimants must meet to maintain their unemployment benefits.

The new unemployment benefit rules require claimants to take a more active role in obtaining a job.  Specifically, claimants must:

• Upon initial application for unemployment benefits, register with OhioMeansJobs.com, a job matching system.  With this registration information, ODJFS posts a basic resume on OhioMeansJobs.com for claimants;
• Within eight weeks of their application for unemployment benefits, create or upload a new resume to their OhioMeansJobs.com account.  Claimants must maintain their resumes in an active, public, and searchable form so potential employers can find and review the resumes;
• Upon receipt of benefits for 14 weeks, complete core assessment tests for mathematics, reading, and locating information, designed to “measure real world skills;” and
• Upon receipt of benefits for 20 weeks, complete a career profile assessment, designed to match interests with career fields.

During this time, OhioMeansJobs.com sends claimants weekly notifications of potential job openings and claimants must keep a record of their job search efforts.  If claimants fail to meet any deadline, ODJFS suspends their unemployment compensation benefits until they complete the missed step(s).

Under limited circumstances, unemployment claimants are exempt from the above-mentioned requirements: individuals laid off and scheduled to return to work within specific timeframes; individuals attending certain training courses or programs; qualifying students; and union members whose union refers them to jobs.

Unemployment claimants who applied on April 11, 2014 hit the eight-week deadline to create or upload a new resume on June 6, 2014.  However, the OhioMeansJobs.com website had glitches, which prevented claimants from doing so.  As such, ODJFS has delayed enforcement of the new requirements until the website works properly.  So far, ODJFS has fixed some of the glitches and expects to begin enforcing the new requirements soon.  If these new requirements reduce the unemployment rolls as hoped, they will also reduce the unemployment contributions employers must make.

*Andrew J. Cleves practices in all areas of labor and employment law. If you have questions about the unemployment compensation process, please contact Andrew(ajc@zrlaw.com) at 216.696.4441.