A liberal judge in Arkansas has ordered the state to resume federal pandemic unemployment benefits just one month after they expired, in yet another glaring example of why there's a huge gap in unemployment claims between red and blue states.
On Wednesday, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Herbert Wright issued a preliminary injunction so the state can resume participation if the government will "Agree to permit the State to do so."
"If the appropriate federal authorities reject such a reinstatement, the State will immediately provide proof of such communication to the Court," said Wright.
The decision stems from a lawsuit filed last Friday on behalf of five citizens seeking to enjoin the state from ending pandemic-related unemployment programs, which provided an extra $300 per week on top of state unemployment benefits which average $338 per week.
In May, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced that the state would end its participation in the unemployment programs on June 26 - which Hutchinson rightly claimed 'actually interferes' with the ability to fill more than 40,000 vacant jobs in the state.
Half of all US states, largely run by Republicans, have announced plans to end federal unemployment benefits amid massive job shortages.
As the New York Post notes, 'A recent poll by Morning Consult found that more than 1.8 million unemployed Americans have turned down jobs throughout the pandemic due to the generosity of the unemployment benefits.
Friday, July 30, 2021
Arkansas Judge Orders Unemployment Stimmies To Continue Despite 40,000 Vacant Jobs
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