Submission + - Ohio Stops Kicking Workers Off Unemployment After Hacker Targets Its Website (vice.com)
An anonymous reader writes: The state of Ohio won't deny unemployment benefits to people who refuse to work during the COVID-19 pandemic after people targeted the website it was using to track these workers, according to officials at the state’s Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS). The state previously set up a “fraud” website encouraging employers to report those who refused to go back on the job, angering workers and labor rights advocates. State officials say they are now reconsidering the policy after Motherboard reported that a hacker created a script to flood the “COVID-19 Fraud” website with junk data, with the goal of making it impossible to process these claims.
“No benefits are being denied right now as a result of a person’s decision not to return to work while we continue to evaluate the policy," ODJFS Director Kimberly Hall told Cleveland.com. "Because Ohio is still examining its policies in this area, no adjudications concerning a refusal to return to work have been initiated," Bret Crow, a spokesperson for the department, told Motherboard in an email.
“No benefits are being denied right now as a result of a person’s decision not to return to work while we continue to evaluate the policy," ODJFS Director Kimberly Hall told Cleveland.com. "Because Ohio is still examining its policies in this area, no adjudications concerning a refusal to return to work have been initiated," Bret Crow, a spokesperson for the department, told Motherboard in an email.
