Indiana Court of Appeals Rules in Favor of Holcomb, Says State Can End Federal Unemployment Benefits

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of Governor Eric Holcomb, saying the state can withdraw from the federal pandemic unemployment program.

On Tuesday, the appeals court said state law does not require Indiana to participate in the CARES Act program, and Holcomb did not violate any rules with his decision.

Gov. Holcomb decided to end federal unemployment payments in June, citing that they were hurting the state’s economic recovery and leading to a worker shortage. However, the state was sued, and an Indianapolis judge ruled that the state had to restart the payments.

The appeals court said the trial court “abused its discretion” when it made the state start the payments once again, rather than letting the state withdraw from the program.

“Because we find that Indiana Code section 22-4-37-1 does not require participation in the CARES Act programs, the State’s decision to terminate the benefits did not violate the statute. We, therefore, conclude that Plaintiffs have not shown a reasonable likelihood of success at trial, and because the movant must prove each of the requirements to obtain a preliminary injunction, we hold that the trial court abused its discretion when it granted the Plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary injunction and enjoined Defendants from withdrawing Indiana from the CARES Act benefits.”