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Minnesota high school students sue for unemployment aid

Cole Stevens was laid off from his Bloomington food service job at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and since then, he's gotten by with freelance audio work and other odd jobs. But as the colder months approach, so does more uncertainty about his ability to help out with the bills at home.

"It's so scary, because my dad doesn't have any health insurance, and I don't have any health insurance," he said. "Finding a job is already difficult, but also finding a job that's not going to severely increase the chances of me getting sick, my dad getting sick, and just going bankrupt is really hard."

Many Minnesota high school students like Stevens lost their jobs and were denied unemployment benefits and pandemic assistance simply for being students. The recent high school graduate is among the plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit filed last month by youth equity nonprofit Youthprise against the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) and DEED Commissioner Steve Grove.

https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-high-school-students-sue-for-unemployment-aid/573184551/

 

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