Arkansas becomes third state where court blocks cuts to unemployment aid

Arkansas is now the third state where a judge ruled that pandemic unemployment benefits must be restarted after they had been halted by the governor. The ruling could impact about 69,000 jobless workers in the state who lost their additional jobless benefits on June 26. 

The ruling follows similar decisions in Indiana and Maryland, whose governors had cut the pandemic aid on June 19 and July 4, respectively. Since early May, the governors of 26 states have announced they would leave the pandemic aid programs, which are federally funded through September 4. That's sparked lawsuits in several other states, including Florida, Ohio and Texas.  In Arkansas, Judge Herbert Wright ruled that the unemployment benefits must be restored while a lawsuit winds its way through court, citing the potential harm that could be experienced by workers from the loss of the financial support. Wright wrote that the lawsuit — filed on behalf of five Arkansas workers who have struggled to pay for essentials such as food and rent since the benefits ended — has "a reasonable likelihood of success on the merits."