Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey cutting off additional unemployment payments was OK, judge rules

A judge has sided with Gov. Doug Ducey, saying that his decision to cut $300 in extra jobless benefits last year was legal, rejecting claims by unemployed workers that they were entitled to the money.

Ducey cut the supplemental funds in July 2021, two months before they expired, irking unemployed people who were relying on the money amid the quirky pandemic job market.

That move meant more than 100,000 jobless people received less money for eight weeks of benefits, or about $2,400 each. The lawsuit sought to force the state to repay that, but a judge said the governor had the discretion to cut the benefits.

"Although the governor is authorized to accept and expend federal funds ... he is not required to do so," Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Katherine Cooper wrote in her decision.

At issue were federal benefits for jobless people called "federal pandemic unemployment compensation" or FPUC. The temporary benefits added $600 a week to jobless benefits at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 through July of that year.

FPUC was later renewed at $300 a week in supplemental jobless benefits through September 2021. But Ducey decided to cut it early in an effort to help struggling employers who couldn't find people to hire.

Without the extra benefits, Arizonans were left with a maximum of $240 a week in state benefits. That amount is set to increase to $320 a week in 2022.

"The court concludes that Arizona law does not compel defendants to obtain FPUC benefits. FPUC was an optional CARES Act benefit that states could start and stop at their discretion," Cooper wrote.

Ducey said at the time he announced the cuts that Arizona would set aside $300 million in federal money to offer a one-time bonus of $2,000 to people who get a full-time job, while those who return part time would receive $1,000.

His office praised the decision.

“We're very pleased with the ruling. It confirms what Gov. Ducey has been saying all along, which is the best social program is a job,” Ducey spokesman C.J. Karamargin said Friday after the ruling.

Officials with the Unemployed Workers United, which filed the lawsuit, said they would appeal the decision.

“I’m upset at the decision from the judge,” said Marcela Huerta, a plaintiff in the case, in a press release from UWU. “Many people, including myself, are suffering right now."

She said the money could be "life-changing" for some people.

"I would’ve liked to see our elected officials stand with us, not against us. My husband has medical bills and the FPUC funds would be a big help to us," Huerta said.

Reach reporter Ryan Randazzo at ryan.randazzo@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4331. Follow him on Twitter @UtilityReporter.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Judge: Ducey's decision to stop extra unemployment benefits was legal