Please update to a modern browser such as Chrome, Firefox or Edge to experience all features Michigan.gov has to offer. Collections of overpayments made before the onset of the pandemic in March 2020 will not be suspended. Workers under fire recently from the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency for overpayments to them of federal benefits during the pandemic will now receive a waiver, the state said Friday. schedule an in-person, phone or online appointment. There are other penalties for fraud, too. Related: Michigan erases $431M in pandemic unemployment overpayments. Select a county above for resources near you, Helping Michigan residents solve their legal problems, Are You Being Evicted? A worker files a claim on the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency website. Interest accumulates very quickly on unemployment overpayments. It has detailed information about the refund. The pause does not stop collections activities such as existing wage garnishments, intercepting federal tax returns, deducting a percentage from current unemployment benefit payments, or recovering overpayments for other states.. In some cases, the UIA might send a refund of payments you have already made. They weren't told by Michigan's UIA until Friday that they would receive a waiver. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. On April 8, 2022 the Unemployment Insurance Agency announced a new promise to halt new collections activity and waive overpayments. All Rights Reserved. The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) has secured a second approval from the U.S. Department of Labor (U.S. DOL) to suspend certain collection activities for 391,769 workers who applied for federal jobless benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since July 2021, the UIA has waived over $4.35 billion in overpayment debt related to federal pandemic jobless benefits programs on more than 407,300 claims. Release date: Friday, July 30, 2021. In some situations, the UIA may send you actual bills for an overpayment. The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) announced that it has issued waivers to approximately 7,300 state and federal COVID-19 jobless claims from If the UIA doesnt get your protest within 30 days, you must show good cause why it was late. An earlier suspension expired in May. The suspension will put money back in the pockets of people who needed pandemic unemployment benefits and followed the rules when they asked for help. Although waivers for 55,000 more claimants is a good step forward, it fell short Each letter will have a due date printed on your determination for when the protest is due. This latest round of waivers adds to our robust work to reform the agency and get money back to Michiganders, while also cracking down on fraud and abuse and holding bad actors accountable at every turn.. Claimants also can schedule an in-person, phone or online appointment. An overpayment happens when you receive more unemployment money than you should have received. The web Browser you are currently using is unsupported, and some features of this site may not work as intended. This may have happened for a few reasons, like if you made a mistake when certifying your benefits, were unable or unavailable to work, or you knowingly gave false or misleading information when filing a claim. Boards, Commissions & Councils collapsed link, Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Michigan State Housing Development Authority, Commission on Middle Eastern American Affairs, Michigan Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission, Michigan Council for Rehabilitation Services, MiSTEM Advisory Council and MiSTEM Network, Workers' Disability Compensation Appeals Commission, https://dev.michigan.local/som/json?sc_device=json, UIA secures federal approval to suspend overpayment collections for nearly 400,000 claimants, Go to Bureau of Services for Blind Persons, Go to Michigan Career & Technical Institute, Go to Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Go to Michigan High-Speed Internet Office, Go to Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Go to Michigan State Housing Development Authority, Go to Office of Mobility and Electrification, Requests for Proposals and Qualifications, Go to Workers' Disability Compensation Agency, Go to Michigan Employment Relations Commission, Go to Commission on Middle Eastern American Affairs, Go to Hispanic/Latino Commission of Michigan, Go to Michigan Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission, Go to Michigan Community Service Commission, Go to Michigan Council on Future Mobility, Go to Michigan Council for Rehabilitation Services, Go to Michigan Workforce Development Board, Go to MiSTEM Advisory Council and MiSTEM Network, Go to Unemployment Insurance Appeals Commission, Go to Workers' Disability Compensation Appeals Commission. An individual was eligible for payment and the state issued payment at a higher Weekly Benefit Amount under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance or Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program. The approximately 55,000 claimants who received a waiver represent a total of$431 million in overpayments that they won't have to pay back. The UIA still is working to identify additional individuals who may deserve waivers from the overpayment notices they got after receiving federal aid during the pandemic. If the UIA later decides that you still owe the overpayment, they might start trying to collect from you again. The UIA must get your appeal within 30 days from the date it is issued. Michigan has yet to adopt this standard, but it now seems poised to do so. To find out if they can help you, apply online or call 1-888-783-8190 Monday - Thursday, 9am - 5pm, or Friday, 9am - 1pm. If you find supporting documents later on, you can add them. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Some Michigan residents who benefited from billions in overpaid pandemic unemployment assistance may not owe that money back after all. The news releasedidn't give an estimate as to how long it might take to issue waivers. Readers can follow our Facebook page for developments on the UIA waiver program and the UIA class-action lawsuit. UIA will continue to review all overpayment claims to see how many more may be eligible for waivers. If you run into problems, you may want to try to contact a lawyer. Make sure to keep your contact information updated in your Michigan Web Account Manager (MiWAM) account so you get any notices from the UIA. The $250 million deposited into the Unemployment Compensation Fund nearly matches the $249 million state portion of the $8.5 billion lost by the state to fraud. The Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) is now reviewing the categories added Monday and determining how many other claims might qualify for waivers under Although waivers for 55,000 more claimants is a good step forward, it fell short of the 382,000 promised and as of May 12, 2022 there is still no explanation about when or if more will be coming. Director Dale and UIA staff remain in constant contact with the federal DOL, advising them of the progress on waivers and advocating aggressively on behalf of Michigan workers and their families, so that no one is forced to repay benefits due to changes that affected their claims after they applied for benefits they needed during a global crisis. The state did not say when they will be issued. That's an average of about $7,800 per claimant that was waived. Under federal law, UIA had to re-evaluate PUA eligibility for individuals who selected one of the non-qualifying reasons. For more information on the Financial Hardship Waiver and how to find it on your MiWAM account, visit page 89 of the MiWAM Toolkit for Claimants. Additionally, roughly $11 million will be refunded to claimants who had been paying back their federal benefits overpayment, or it will be applied to any outstanding debt a claimant may have. Convenient times and dates are available. Additional testing over the last week by FAST developers revealed the early numbers to overlap with waivers issued last fall by the agency. Rebuilt the Trust Fund to $1.5 billion (and growing). If you lose your appeal in front of an ALJ, you can appeal to the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Commission (UIAC). If this happens, you can use the same Financial Hardship waiver process. New wage garnishments, state tax return intercepts halted while Agency prepares to apply more waivers beyond 62,000 already granted. If you got unemployment benefits under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, you may have received a notice for overpayment. WebEligible Unemployment Claimants Granted Overpayment Waivers. Michigans unemployment agency announced another round of waivers and refunds for filers who were overpaid and asked to pay back the overpayment. More: Waivers for unemployment claimants who received overpayment letters may come this weekend, More: Waivers for unemployment overpayments could start to roll out by end of the month. Of the roughly 690,000 claimants that were asked to requalify, about 241,000 responded to the UIA's request. Screenshots from some who received benefitsand instructionalvideos posted by the agencyshow itactually hadasked fortotalpay, not net pay. Some Michiganders had benefits cut short based on erroneous determinations about whether they lost work due to COVID, whether they were able and available for work, or whether they voluntarily quit their jobs for health and safety reasons. The Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) has begun to notify claimants who are no longer eligible to receive Pandemic Unemployment Assistance(PUA) benefits that overpayments will be waived. The Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) has begun to notify claimants We will continue to review federal UI cases to make sure everyone who qualifies for an overpayment waiver will receive one.. The individual responded no to being unemployed, partially unemployed, or unable or unavailable to work due to the approved coronavirus-related reasons, and the state paid Pandemic Unemployment Assistance. The pause does not stop collections activities such as existing wage garnishments, intercepting federal tax returns, deducting a percentage from current unemployment benefit payments, or recovering overpayments for other states. Although the press release was release went to media outlets, claimants facing collections notices did not receive any notice. Use the Guide to Legal Help to find a legal services office near you. Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) provides the connections, expertise and innovative solutions to drive continued business growth, build vibrant communities, create affordable housing, generate tourism and attract and retain key talent to fill Michigans vast pipeline of opportunities. If the UIA denies your protest and appeal and still says you owe the money, you can use this waiver process to argue that even if there is an overpayment, you should not have to pay it back. Some examples of good cause include: You can protest online through your Michigan Web Account Manager (MiWAM). Waivers will not be applied to claims where UIA has determined fraud is involved and the agency will continue to vigorously pursue restitution of any stolen benefits. instructionalvideos posted by the agency, Michigan Unemployment agency says claimants made big mistake. We are aware that there are issues related to gross versus net income calculations on Pandemic Unemployment Assistance weekly benefit amounts, Dale said. Regular unemployment benefits paid during the pandemic are unaffected by this announcement. He also authors the Morning Report Newsletter and various other newsletters. All rights reserved (About Us). Boards, Commissions & Councils collapsed link, Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Michigan State Housing Development Authority, Commission on Middle Eastern American Affairs, Michigan Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission, Michigan Council for Rehabilitation Services, MiSTEM Advisory Council and MiSTEM Network, Workers' Disability Compensation Appeals Commission, https://dev.michigan.local/som/json?sc_device=json, UIA announces new waivers of state, federal overpayment determinations, Go to Bureau of Services for Blind Persons, Go to Michigan Career & Technical Institute, Go to Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Go to Michigan High-Speed Internet Office, Go to Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Go to Michigan State Housing Development Authority, Go to Office of Mobility and Electrification, Requests for Proposals and Qualifications, Go to Workers' Disability Compensation Agency, Go to Michigan Employment Relations Commission, Go to Commission on Middle Eastern American Affairs, Go to Hispanic/Latino Commission of Michigan, Go to Michigan Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission, Go to Michigan Community Service Commission, Go to Michigan Council on Future Mobility, Go to Michigan Council for Rehabilitation Services, Go to Michigan Workforce Development Board, Go to MiSTEM Advisory Council and MiSTEM Network, Go to Unemployment Insurance Appeals Commission, Go to Workers' Disability Compensation Appeals Commission. Here is what we know so far: The U.S. Department of Labor has been clear since May of 2021 that states like Michigan have broad powers to waive so-called overpayments on Pandemic Unemployment Benefits created by the CARES Act. UIA 1901 (Spanish) - Unemployment Benefits in Michigan. Claimants can also call UIAs Customer Service at 1-866-500-0017. When those claimants appealed the decision and the case went before a judge, agency representatives said theclaimantswere liable because they hadentered their gross pay from prior years to determine their weekly benefit amountwhen they should have entered their net pay. Click here to take a moment and familiarize yourself with our Community Guidelines. If the UIA denies your protest, you can appeal. More Michiganders are still waiting. If you were overpaid benefits and you are currently employed, contact the UIA Benefit Overpayment Collection unit at 1-800-638-6372 to arrange repayment. It is very important to read the notices, and protest or appeal on time using the process below if you disagree with the UIA's decision. The agency did not provide an estimate on how many people were affected by the earnings mishap. Related: Unemployment waivers bring relief to thousands. In June, claimants were asked to requalify for PUA by providing the agency with the necessary information to remain eligible for the federal program. If you need the advice and counsel of a knowledgeable employment law attorney who can best protect your rights and help you pursue your legal interests. Michigan Rehabilitation Services new layout, Michigan Council for Rehabilitation Services (MCRS), Executive Order 2020-107 established Michigan Workforce Development Board, Unemployment Insurance Appeals Commission, formerly MI Compensation Appellate Commission. 2023 Blanchard & Walker PLLC. The Michigan UIA is facing a class-action lawsuit that claims the state unlawfully demanded pandemic aid back. 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