Fourth Circuit Revives Bank of America Pandemic Benefits Suit

Bank of America Corp. will have to contend with a proposed class action alleging it mishandled pandemic-era unemployment benefits, a federal appeals court said.

The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on Friday ruled that pandemic unemployment benefits were government benefit accounts under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, overturning a lower court ruling that dismissed a case brought by a Maryland auto mechanic alleging Bank of America’s handling of his account violated the law.

At the heart of the Fourth Circuit opinion is whether the special pandemic unemployment relief was a government benefit as defined under the EFTA, …