Groups are asking Gov. Mike DeWine to allow continued unemployment compensation for any Ohioans who fear being forced to work where exposure to COVID-19 remains a real danger.
And U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Dayton, says he is introducing legislation this week that would allow workers to terminate their employment “through no fault of their own” if they don’t feel safe returning to their jobs. Such legislation would also allow continued unemployment compensation for those workers, according to Turner.
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“We are concerned that a narrow policy that fails to spell out good cause exemptions will exclude many working people, who have real, justifiable reasons for not returning to work, including those susceptible to COVID-19, from receiving unemployment insurance benefits,” the liberal-leaning Policy Matters Ohio and Ohio Poverty Law Center said in a jointly drafted letter to DeWine Tuesday.
“Leaving employees, who have little access to the evidence needed to prove their employer failed to follow COVID protocols and who are largely without access to legal counsel and advice, with the burden of overcoming a strong presumption that their employer acted reasonably in their request to return to work will be too much for many with legitimate claims to navigate and will put working Ohioans at a disadvantage,” the organizations told DeWine.
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On Tuesday, the Dayton Daily News reported that the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services has created a tool for employers to "report employees who quit or refuse to return to work and attempt to collect unemployment."
“It’s not a hard-and-fast rule but if your job is offered to you, you’re supposed to go back to work. There is a list of exemptions for that,” Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said Friday.
In his own statement Tuesday, Turner said his proposed legislation will provide all complying businesses with immunity from civil lawsuits if one of their employees contracts coronavirus after states permit businesses to reopen.
But the proposed legislation would also offer expanded unemployment protection, according to Turner. It will provide employees with heightened health concerns an opportunity to request special accommodations from employers and allow them to maintain eligibility for unemployment benefits if those employees remain concerned about contracting COVID-19.
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Many businesses are concerned about re-opening due to the risk associated with being held liable if one of their employees contracts coronavirus after coming back to work,” Turner said in his release Tuesday. “This bill is proactive and seeks to protect complying businesses and employees as we begin to restart the economy.”
Added Turner: “Additionally, this bill protects employees by giving them the ability to raise specific health concerns with their employer.”
The bill would allow employees to decide for themselves whether they feel safe staying at work.
“If the employee is still unsatisfied with their working conditions, they will be permitted to terminate their employment and, for purposes of eligibility for unemployment benefits, the termination will be ‘through no fault of their own,’” Turner’s description of the legislation says.
Desiree Tims, Turner’s Democratic 10th congressional district opponent in November, took issue with the proposal to shield employers from liability.
“Once again, Congressman Mike Turner is siding with corporate interests at a time when leaders need to be providing more protections for workers and patients, not less,” Tims said in a statement Tuesday. “This bill is dangerous because it forces Americans to choose between their paycheck and their health.”
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