This week Ohio officially paid off its unemployment compensation debt to the federal government.  The remaining balance of $217,787,913 was paid on Tuesday. Since the start of the Great Recession in 2008 Ohio borrowed $3.4 billion from the federal government in order to pay the state’s unemployment obligations.  Had the debt not been retired, employers faced a potential FUTA obligation of $168 per employee this year, an increase from $42 per employee. The OMA worked with lawmakers to pass House Bill 390 this summer which ensured the state would retire the debt in 2016.  The OMA and its allies continue to work on reforms that will ensure the solvency of the state’s unemployment compensation system and prevent borrowing from the federal government in a future economic downturn.  9/1/2016