A labor group is looking to recoup federal unemployment benefits that Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey ended early.
The federal government had initially made an additional $600 a week and then $300 a week available to those out of work in Arizona and other states. But the Governor’s Office wants the bid tossed out.
Timothy Berg, the governor’s attorney, doesn’t dispute that Arizona law requires the Department of Economic Security to try everything to provide unemployment compensation. But he’s arguing that the governor accepted the funds before the department did, and the governor is not bound to the same laws as DES.
The governor ended the extra federal funding in July, a month before the federal program ended.
The lawyer for the labor group Unemployed Workers United and some individuals argues the early termination was illegal and could lead to evictions.
There is no date set for the hearing.
