Reynolds sued for cutting pandemic unemployment benefits

DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) - A class action lawsuit accuses Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds of violating state law and depriving up to 55,000 Iowans of “life-sustaining benefits”.

The lawsuit filed this week in Federal Court in Iowa, cites Reynolds decision in May 2021 to pull Iowa out of federally funded unemployment benefits under the CARES Act. Those benefits started under former President Donald Trump and included higher payments for people on unemployment and let people continue receiving unemployment benefits for an extended time. But Governor Reynolds was one of several Republican governors who opted out of the programs in 2021, arguing the extended benefits were hurting the labor market and allowing people to chose not to work.

The lawsuit names two people, Karla Smith and Holly Bladel. Smith is a retiree who took a job at Caseys just before the start of the Pandemic to help cover costs but quit at the advice of her doctor because a lung condition put her at higher risk of COVID-19 complications and retail work increased her exposure. Bladel quit her job at a restaurant and gas station to help care for her immunocompromised relative.

The lawsuit claims both suffered hardships when Governor Reynolds pulled Iowa out of the extended unemployment benefits program effective in June 2021. It says the move left Smith and Bladel “unable to cover basic living expenses such as housing, utilities, food, health care, and child care.”

The lawsuit claims both had received notices stating Pandemic unemployment benefits would continue through September 2021, as approved by Congress. It accuses Governor Reynolds of violating both the U.S. and Iowa Constitutions by seizing these benefits without compensation or due process. It also claims the action violates an Iowa law requiring the state “cooperate with the United States Department of Labor to the fullest extent” to get “all advantages available” for unemployment benefits.

The lawsuit also names Iowa Workforce Development Director Beth Townsend and the state. Lawyers for Governor Reynolds has not filed a response to the lawsuit.