Check your MiWAM account once a week to make sure you do not miss any updates. Many more have never been told why they werent paid the benefits owed, and they still just wait nearly two years later. Use the Guide to Legal Help to find a legal services office near you. Previously, a February 7, 2022 press announcement, the Governor and Unemployment Agency Director Julia Dale announced that the States Unemployment Agency intends to act quickly to halt collections and issue overpayment waivers. If you want the ALJ to see any documents, you will need to send it to the judge before the hearing. WebThe UIA is responsible for collecting overpayments of unemployment benefits. Michigan paid $8.5B in fraudulent COVID unemployment claims. In late December 2022, Michigan's Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) said it would temporarily stop trying to collect overpayments from people who filed for unemployment insurance since March 1, 2020. Working off the Clock Alro Steel FLSA Overtime Pay Lawsuit, The End of Forced Arbitration for Survivors of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment, Repayment would cause financial hardship; or, The claimant relied on the payment or notice of payment and gave up a valuable right or changed positions for the worse; or. This is wonderful news for those who lost their job through no fault of their own, UIA Director Julia Dale said. Claimants who received waivers had messages posted to their Michigan Web Account Manager (MiWAM) accounts, the agency said, and letters started going out on Monday. If your protests were filed on time, the UIA is not allowed to collect money before your case is final. We will update this page if we get more information. They can also contact the UIA by phone at 866-500-0017 or schedule a telephone, virtual or in-person appointment with an agent. Over the past three months, we have waived more than $484.2 million on 62,300 claims. Awarding waivers is a cornerstone of Director Dales reform of the UIA, including chasing down bad actors who steal money from workers, striving for exemplary customer service and leading the effort to replace the Agencys decade-old computer system with a user-friendly, state-of-the-art interface for claimants and businesses. My top priority is to help Michigan families. Implemented new policies for employees and contractors, including fingerprinting, criminal background checks, and an updated ethics policy. An individual responded no to being able and available for work and the state issued payment for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance or Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation without adjudicating the eligibility issue. If the UIA later decides that you still owe the overpayment, they might start trying to collect from you again. UIA will continue to review all overpayment claims to see how many more may be eligible for waivers. Waivers issued earlier this month erased overpayments for 55,000 people caught in an agency mistake. This means the UIA should stop sending collection letters or doing anything else to make people pay these overpayments. Although Michigan has yet to adopt the federal waiver standard, the UIA seems poised to do so in light of the new guidance. The individual submitted required proof of earnings used to calculate Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Weekly Benefit Amount and the state incorrectly processed the calculation, resulting in a higher WBA under the PUA program. This most recent round of waivers provides relief to Michiganders who, during the height of the pandemic, followed the rules as they navigated an overburdened unemployment benefits system. Protests can take 10 months or longer to be resolved. According to recent reporting, the waiver program was much smaller than promised. 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.. The move came twodays after the Detroit Free Press highlighted that certain peoplewho received Pandemic Unemployment Assistancebenefits were accused of misreportingtheir income and were to repay the excess benefits they had received. Click here to take a moment and familiarize yourself with our Community Guidelines. In February, the request for expanded waivers was granted. Copyright 2023 ClickOnDetroit.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group, a division of Graham Holdings. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Collaborated with the Attorney Generals office to combat fraud at the agency. If the UIA denies your Financial Hardship Waiver, you can appeal to an ALJ. There is not an application for this on MiWAM, but you can ask for the waiver by going to your main account page and finding the link "Send Unemployment a Message". 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. 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. There is no application process. The U.S. DOL authorized a pause on certain collection activity through May 7, 2022. Thanks to these waivers that we fought for and secured Michiganders will get to keep their hard-earned money.. So far, there has not been any specific plan announced on whether or how the federal standard will be adopted and, if so, how the blanket waivers will be applied. If this happens, you can use the same Financial Hardship waiver process. Related: Michigan erases $431M in pandemic unemployment overpayments. Contact Adrienne Roberts: amroberts@freepress.com. 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. If the UIA tries to collect from you during the pause, you can try contacting the UIA's Benefit Overpayment Collection unit at 1-866-500-0017. Michigan Legal HelpHelping Michigan residents solve their legal problems. Already, weve issued 55,000 waivers for people who needed help and did nothing wrong, but thats not good enough, Dale said. We continue to monitor and advocate as the situation unfolds. Claimants can also call UIAs Customer Service at 1-866-500-0017. New wage garnishments, state tax return intercepts halted while Agency prepares to apply more waivers beyond 62,000 already granted. On April 8, 2022 the Unemployment Insurance Agency announced a new promise to halt new collections activity and waive overpayments. The web Browser you are currently using is unsupported, and some features of this site may not work as intended. Additional testing over the last week by FAST developers revealed the early numbers to overlap with waivers issued last fall by the agency. Unemployment waivers bring relief to thousands. WebYou can request a waiver from your state if repaying the overage will cause a financial hardship if the overage is not the result of fraud. If you don't have the documents available, you can make the protest without them. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. That's an average of about $7,800 per claimant that was waived. Related: Unemployment waivers bring relief to thousands. Julia Dale directs the state Unemployment Insurance Agency. If the UIA doesnt get your protest within 30 days, you must show good cause why it was late. The web Browser you are currently using is unsupported, and some features of this site may not work as intended. This federal action will allow us the time we need to evaluate claims for overpayment waivers, which we will be announcing soon.. Were not finished providing substantial relief to Michigan workers, said UIA Director Julia Dale. The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) announced today that it has issued another round of waivers to approximately 7,300 state and federal COVID-19 If you cant show good cause, the decision that you were overpaid will become final. This is a free legal aid hotline. The agency said it has requestedan extension from the U.S. Department of Labor of apause oncollection activities such aswage garnishments and interceptions by theState of Michigan. The agency did not provide an estimate on how many people were affected by the earnings mishap. A motion for preliminary injunction to suspend collections on these overpayments is currently being considered by Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Brock Swartzle. A total of $484.2 million in overpayments have been waived on 62,300 claims this year. 2023 Blanchard & Walker PLLC. Please update to a modern browser such as Chrome, Firefox or Edge to experience all features Michigan.gov has to offer. He enjoys suffering through Lions games on Sundays in the fall. Dale announced last week waivers on approximately 7,300 overpayment claims that waived $53.2 million in repayments. The waivers provide fresh hope for Michiganders who faced paying back the federal government for benefits they received based on frequently shifting federal and state program rules. Each letter will have a due date printed on your determination for when the protest is due. If you lose your appeal in front of an ALJ, you can appeal to the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Commission (UIAC). If you run into problems, you may want to try to contact a lawyer. Built a new, user-friendly website that is more responsive to those using a mobile phone or tablet to access services. Letters will also be mailed to the address on file confirming the MiWAM notification. TheU.S. Department of Labor issued guidance to states in February on how to address overpayments when the claimant is not at fault. Four PUA COVID-19 eligibility reasons that were included at the beginning of the pandemic were later found by the U.S. Department of Labor to be non-qualifying. Convenient times and dates are available. After the notifications were issued, Gov. 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. Last year, the Michigan UIA retroactively determined nearly 700,000 people were ineligible for a federal pandemic unemployment program that extended benefits to part-time and gig workers. Assuming Michigan UIA takes advantage of the broad blanket waiver allowances, waivers could fix many overpayment issues for Michigan residents who were incorrectly paid benefits through no fault of their own. The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) announced Friday that those who wrongfully received Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits will be granted an overpayment waiver allowing them to keep the money, although many may no longer receive aid going forward. PUA benefits are $300 a week on top of maximum state benefits of $362. 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. The web Browser you are currently using is unsupported, and some features of this site may not work as intended. and last updated 7:40 PM, Feb 07, 2022. Convenient times and dates are available. Interest accumulates very quickly on unemployment overpayments. If you have a question about your PUA overpayments, you may be able to get help from the Counsel and Advocacy Law Line. The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) announced that it has issued waivers to approximately 7,300 state and federal COVID-19 jobless claims from Although waivers for 55,000 more claimants is a good step forward, it fell short There is no application process. The UIA waived the repayment of more than $53.2 million in benefits that were received by claimants, providing much needed relief for Michiganders. This round of waivers accounts for 96% Overpaid claimants who provided the Michigan UIA with gross earnings instead of net earnings will be the group to get waivers. 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.. At every turn, I will stand up and fight on behalf of Michiganders to make sure they get what they were promised. Once you have logged into your account, click on the "Determination Status" tab, and then click on "file an appeal.". Around $11 million was refunded to Michiganders who had paid or begun paying back these benefits. People who were paid on regular UI will still be eligible for waivers under the narrower state standards, and any applications will have to be individually determined by the Agency. The appeal process and deadlines are still the same. 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. Regular unemployment benefits paid during the pandemic are unaffected by this announcement. Support for Michigan Legal Help is provided by: Copyright 2023 Michigan Legal Help. 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. Step 1 Contact your state's unemployment department. 2 regarding overpayments. The ETA Handbook 401 defines a Waiver as a "non-fraud overpayment for which the state agency, in accordance with state law, officially relinquishes the obligation of the claimant to repay." Some claimants have received a waiver. According to recent reporting, the waiver program was much smaller than promised. In June, claimants were asked to requalify for PUA by providing the agency with the necessary information to remain eligible for the federal program. Unfortunately, even if the Agency acts quickly to waive overpayments, this does nothing for the thousands of Michiganders who are owed benefits and have had them cut off. The web Browser you are currently using is unsupported, and some features of this site may not work as intended. The waiver only covers past If you lose your appeal in front of an ALJ, read What If I Lose My Appeal? below. If a waiver does not apply, collections will resume. 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 Michigan UIA is facing a class-action lawsuit that claims the state unlawfully demanded pandemic aid back. There is not an application for this on MiWAM, but you can ask for the waiver by going to your main account page and finding the link "Send Unemployment a Message". Ask the UIA to issue a determination to tell you if the overpayment is the result of the UIAs error. currently being considered by Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Brock Swartzle. Ask the UIA to issue a determination to tell you if the overpayment is the result of the UIAs error. Video of the Day Meanwhile, apause on"new" wage garnishments and interceptions of state of Michigan tax refundsfor 398,000 claimants expired on May 7. A new system will allow for quick analysis of data that is currently not possible for the agency. A pause on collections that was granted by the U.S. Department of Labor expired on May 7. All rights reserved (About Us). Collections of overpayments made before the onset of the pandemic in March 2020 will not be suspended. The programs were Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), Mixed Earnings Unemployment Compensation (MEUC) and federal reimbursement for the first week of benefits. Select a county above for resources near you, Helping Michigan residents solve their legal problems, Are You Being Evicted? The news releasedidn't give an estimate as to how long it might take to issue waivers. When the hearing is scheduled, the judges office will send a Notice of Telephone Hearing to you in the mail. Letters will also be mailed in the coming days confirming the MiWAM notification. The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) announced Friday that those who wrongfully received Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits will be 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. At the hearing you will be able to explain why you believe you are eligible for the benefits you received and any good cause that you relied on. Release date: Friday, July 30, 2021. 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. News Update: Promised Waivers fall short. 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. 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