Tennessee will be 7th state sued for cutting off federal unemployment benefits
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — A group of Tennesseans are suing Gov. Bill Lee and Tennessee for stopping federal unemployment benefits more than two months before the program expires.
Already, people in Indiana and Maryland have sued and won, getting their federal help reinstated And cases are pending right now in Ohio, Oklahoma, Florida, and Texas.
They're 1,800 strong. The grassroots Facebook group Tennesseans Against Ending Benefits Early say they aren't stopping without a suit.
Mom and member Dee Bowen of Jonesboro's been tracking how people in Indiana and Maryland sued to get what they say is rightfully theirs.
“Them winning gives us a little hope that we can win too because we have similar laws,” says Bowen.
Nashville Attorney Gary Blackburn confirms held his first legal consultation with them Wednesday evening and confirms with me he is moving forward with litigation against Governor Bill Lee. Blackburn says, “These are represented to me to be people not people who simply don't want to go back to jobs because of this. but people who have physical impairments that keep them from doing this.”
As an example of circumstances some people are facing,last week we introduced you to Josh and Becky Hubbard. Both with weakened immune systems from battling cancer. They say with the Delta variant spreading and Tennessee's low vaccination rate of 38.5%, returning to work could be deadly for them.
Josh Hubbard explains, “I was diagnosed with ocular melanoma and it was treated with radiation which weakened my immune system and in November of last year, my wife was diagnosed with multiple myeloma.”
Dee Bowen says, “We're hoping to use the law from the 1933 Social Security Act to procure all available, all federal insurance benefits to the citizens.
That law addresses unemployment insurance. When asked if the cases in Indiana and Maryland will impact Tennessee’s litigation, attorney Blackburn answers, “Well. if it's based on state law, it has in those states it has very little precedential value other than being 'persuasive' lawyers call it, but not 'binding'. On the other hand if it's based on federal regulations it could be very useful.”
Governor Lee said last month ending the federal unemployment $300 dollar a week payments would prompt people to go back to work and fix widespread labor shortages especially in restaurant, hotel and hospitality jobs.
In a June 8 interview, the governor says, “When we have 250,000 job openings in the state and we are paying people to stay home, that needs to change.
ALSO READ: Federal unemployment cut could cost Tennessee millions, but Lee stands by his decision
Nearly two weeks into the early cut off period, FOX 17 News checked to see if ending federal unemployment is having the intended effect. On the Jobs 4 TN website, Tennessee had 269,456 openings two weeks ago and now has 3,300 more.
With a lawsuit now in the works, I asked if Governor Lee has "any plans to reinstate federal unemployment ahead of litigation?" And if "ending federal unemployment early had benefits that are quantifiable?"
His spokesperson says We are focused on helping Tennesseans find meaningful employment and moving away from short-term, federal fixes. There are no plans for that to change.”
On the flip side, it's important to recognize the struggles of business owners like Marc Barhonovich who owns Caney Fork River Valley Grille in Music Valley. He says, “I now have to shut down Monday, shut down Friday mornings, shut down Sunday mornings because I don't have enough staff to open.”
Barhonovich says he hopes ending federal unemployment will help, but now the new child tax credit may be backfiring on Governor Lee's efforts to fill jobs.
With struggles evident on both sides of this issue, the legal wheels are clearly in motion. Attorney Blackburn says, “I thought the program was excellent and if I'm able to help them, I'm going to try to do it.”
Blackburn tells me he will ask for benefits to be restored retroactively in the litigation.
