After months of railing against the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency, House Republicans on Tuesday proposed a six-part plan to reform the system and “fix customer service.”
Liza Estlund Olson, the acting director of the Unemployment Insurance Agency, has agreed to testify in front of the House Oversight Committee next month.
Federal unemployment benefits are expiring Sept. 4 in the state, ending payments worth about a combined $283 million to workers not eligible for Michigan’s regular unemployment program.
A June letter confused and terrified nearly 700,000 jobless residents who were told they might have to repay benefits, according to testimony Tuesday at a House Oversight Committee meeting. It’s just the latest misstep by the state unemployment agency.
Some 350,000 people who received federal payments didn’t respond to a request asking them to requalify for benefits. The state waived granted waivers anyway.
The 648,000 Michigan residents who received federal pandemic relief benefits in error will not have to repay the funds if they applied in good faith. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said waivers will be awarded if payments were the state’s error.
The deadline is looming for those who’ve been flagged for receiving pandemic unemployment benefits. Step one: Don’t panic. Step two: Complete the process and be ready to appeal.
Lawmakers demand answers after Michigan officials send letters to recipients of federal COVID relief asking to update their qualifications or risk repaying benefits. It’s the latest gaffe for the agency.
Jobless workers waited more than a year for the chance to solve their unemployment issues in person. As of Thursday, they now can make appointments at 12 of the state’s offices for June 30 and beyond.
Business groups say the enhanced benefits make it harder to find employees. Democrats disagree, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is not expected to sign the legislation.
Unemployed Michiganders will need to prove they are searching for jobs to continue qualifying for benefits when the state restores a suspended requirement by the end of May, a change employers are clamoring for as they struggle to fill openings.
A year after some feared collapse, Michigan’s economy is weathering the storm but warning signs remain. Jobs in the hospitality industry, exemplified here by Mackinac Island, are down. Here are more than two dozen metics you need to know to understand the recovery, from average income and housing prices to debt and productivity.
The extraordinary package expected to come to a U.S. House vote as soon as Tuesday provides months of economic protection to households across Michigan, too much say some critics. Here are some ways families, schools and businesses will be impacted.
What happens when you tell jobless workers to log in on Monday? They log in. Up to 340,000 login attempts per hour set a new record, crashing the state’s system as workers tried to reset benefits that expired in December.
The state’s computer system Monday was unresponsive for many workers seeking access to the unemployment benefits system. It’s the latest in a series of technology failures impacting workers put out of work by COVID.
When the clock strikes midnight on Jan. 1, Michigan will still be grappling with COVID, which is why lawmakers must act to improve the state's unemployment system.
Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Republican lawmakers are preparing separate stimulus proposals, while some extension of unemployment benefits is possible during a lame-duck session that probably will be less dramatic than previous years.
