Single Mother, Plaintiff In Unemployment Lawsuit Against State Shares Struggles Finding Work

An Oklahoma single mother who is part of a lawsuit to get federal unemployment benefits reinstates in Oklahoma said she hopes the Supreme Court will rule in their favor.

Wednesday, August 11th 2021, 9:24 pm

By: Kristen Weaver

A woman who is part of a lawsuit to get federal unemployment benefits reinstates in Oklahoma said she hopes the Supreme Court will rule in their favor.

The court held two hearings on the issue Wednesday.

Michella Stewart said she hopes the payments will resume soon.

Stewart said everything was going well for her last year before the pandemic. She had a new, well-paying job in home health. But she said she was let go after her company didn't let her work from home.

"With five kids home, I wasn't sure how to make that work," Stewart said.

Stewart is a single mom and said her son has a heart condition that puts him at higher risk for COVID-19.

She said she started on unemployment while tirelessly looking for jobs in her small Western Oklahoma town.

"I have three months of experience in this new area, it doesn't qualify me," said Stewart.

Stewart said at first, any job was hard to come by, especially with little experience in her field and no college degree. Now, she said the gap on her resume is creating even more problems.

"The longer you're on unemployment the fewer people want to hire you," Stewart said.

Stewart joined a lawsuit against the state which said Governor Stitt didn't have the power to end the federal unemployment programs.

On Friday, an Oklahoma judge agreed and said the Oklahoma employment security commission needs to start paying people again.

Wednesday, two hearings were held in the Oklahoma supreme court and now a response is in the hands of supreme court justices.

Stewart wants people to realize there is so much that goes into finding a job and she and so many others have really been struggling without the help for two months.

"I know we have to wait now for a ruling, and I think it’ll be a good one," she said.

The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission said it notified the Department of Labor after last week's ruling and is waiting for the Supreme Court to rule.

The governor's office declined to comment.

Federal benefits are set to expire September 6.