Judge Orders Oklahoma to Reinstate $300 Federal Jobless Benefit

Ray Liberge (R) interviews for a job as a line cook with a human resources manager before being hired during a Zislis Group job fair at The Brew Hall in Torrance, Calif., on June 23, 2021. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

An Oklahoma judge has ordered the state to resume the expanded federal unemployment benefits that were implemented during last year’s pandemic relief efforts and were cut off in June.

District Judge Anthony Bonner Jr. on Aug. 6 issued a preliminary injunction blocking the state from ending the $300 a week supplemental federal pandemic jobless benefit until he issues a final order in the case, or until the program’s scheduled termination date in September.