Maryland’s Republican Governor Ordered To Continue Federal Unemployment Benefits

A court blocked Maryland’s Republican Gov. Larry Hogan from prematurely cutting off federal unemployment benefits for tens of thousands of Marylanders Tuesday — a win for the state’s unemployed as Republican-led states across the country continue to yank the benefits Congress put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Baltimore City Circuit Judge Lawrence Fletcher-Hill issued a preliminary injunction, prohibiting Hogan and his administration from taking any action that would prevent Maryland residents from accessing the full benefits afforded through the CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan, the $2 trillion COVID-19 relief package Biden signed into law in March.

The order comes after a pair of unemployed Marylanders issued lawsuits against the governor for attempting to end benefits in early July. Trials have not been set for those cases, but this guarantees the benefits will be in place at least through mid-August.

The American Rescue Plan extended a $300 weekly unemployment insurance supplement, as well as benefits for those who have been unemployed long-term or do not typically qualify for state benefits, through early September.

Without those benefits, unemployed Americans will have to rely solely on state-funded unemployment insurance, which lasts 26 weeks or less, and doesn’t cover a major part of the workforce.

Hogan was among a long list of Republican governors who said they would cut off federal unemployment benefits early. Republicans and business owners have been complaining for months that the increased unemployment benefits are disincentivizing people from coming back to work, creating a labor shortage.

“We have a critical problem where businesses across our state are trying to hire more people, but many are facing severe worker shortages,” Hogan said in a statement in June, announcing his decision to cut off benefits. “We look forward to getting more Marylanders back to work.”

Recent jobs reports have done little to reflect a widespread workforce shortage — businesses hired 850,000 workers in June, with the largest gains in the restaurant and service industries.