Unemployment Changes Move Forward

Liz Gullett

Jan 28, 2022

The House passed a bill package making several reforms to Michigan’s Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA), which has been plagued by problems over the last several years. The legislation would address mistakes, make procedural changes, ensures recipients of an emergency federal unemployment program don’t have to repay due to a state government error, and makes a deposit into the UIA trust fund.

Specifically, the House’s plan would:

- Require the UIA to review and determine someone’s eligibility within 15 business days of a claim submission.
- Create an independent unemployment insurance advocate to serve as a point-of-contact for families.
- Waive repayment for improperly paid Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits due to the state’s mistake.
- Deposit $250 million into the UIA trust fund to help ensure local employers don’t have to pay more to make up for fraud and improper payments during the pandemic.

The bill package has been referred to the Senate Economic and Small Business Development Committee for consideration.

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