Consumer Law
A Proposed Class Action Lawsuit Accuses Iowa’s Unemployment Benefit Cuts of Being Illegal
A proposed class-action lawsuit claims that Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ decision to cut off enhanced unemployment benefits for tens of thousands of residents violated state law and asks a court to reinstate their eligibility.
The lawsuit, filed this week in Polk County, seeks to make claimants eligible for potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in unemployment aid they have been denied since Iowa dropped federal pandemic benefit programs June 12.
Reynolds, a Republican, announced in May that Iowa would end participation in federal programs that provided an extra $300 per week to normal unemployment benefits and expanded eligibility criteria. She cited a “severe workforce shortage,” saying the move would encourage people to return to work.
