They can also contact the UIA by phone at 866-500-0017 or schedule a telephone, virtual or in-person appointment with an agent. Those 350,000 people wont be able to keep collecting Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits in the future, however. Please update to a modern browser such as Chrome, Firefox or Edge to experience all features Michigan.gov has to offer. There are other penalties for fraud, too. We offer a wealth of free workplace-related information in our Employee Rights and Information Center. Many more have never been told why they werent paid the benefits owed, and they still just wait nearly two years later. The U.S. DOL authorized a pause on certain collection activity through May 7, 2022. This is a pause on collections only. Related: Michigan erases $431M in pandemic unemployment overpayments. The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) announced that it has issued waivers to approximately 7,300 state and federal COVID-19 jobless claims from In some cases, the UIA might send a refund of payments you have already made. Reassigned staff and resources to address the largest categories of claims that are contributing to the agencys case backlog. 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. Michigan erases $431M in pandemic unemployment overpayments. 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. Waivers will be granted to the initial group of approximately 350,000 non-responses, many of whom may no longer be collecting benefits. (WXMI) Relief could soon be coming for Michiganders who were told they would have to pay back unemployment money. This is wonderful news for those who lost their job through no fault of their own, UIA Director Julia Dale said. Rebuilt the Trust Fund to $1.5 billion (and growing). State officials worked with the U.S. Department of Labor to issue the first round of waivers last August followed by the second chunk in early May. The agency did not provide an estimate on how many people were affected by the earnings mishap. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. The DOLsEmployment and Training Administrationupdated its waiver guidance to approve five new scenarios under which states who have adopted the federal provisions for consideration of a waiver may use blanket waivers to wipe out overpayments: The Department of Labor has also created a process for states to propose additional categories for blanket waiver treatment. Will the pause on collections continue? What is an Overpayment Waiver? In addition, approximately $2.4 million will be refunded to claimants who were paying back benefits received or applied toward overpayments not covered by the waivers. If you owe past income taxes or money to the UIA, the Michigan Department of the Treasury can take all or part of your federal and/or state income tax refund to pay the debt. State 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. Please note that contacting us does not create any attorney-client relationship between you and our firm. Claimants who receive waivers were sent a message in their Michigan Web Account Manager (MiWAM) online accounts. Ask the UIA to issue a determination to tell you if the overpayment is the result of the UIAs error. The UIA has requested an extension of that pause while they identify and process waivers for other population and is in the process of providing additional information to support the request for extension. A motion for preliminary injunction to suspend collections on these overpayments is currently being considered by Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Brock Swartzle. To get benefits under the PUA program, the Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) must have determined that your unemployment was directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. 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. To date, the agency said ithas waived more than$4.3 billion in overpayment debt for more than 400,000claimants. If the UIA denies your protest, you can appeal. Some claimants have received a waiver. About 530,000 were then hit with steep overpayment notices at no fault of their own. News Update: Promised Waivers fall short. 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. According to recent reporting, the waiver program was much smaller than promised. Copyright 2022 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved. 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. This round of waivers accounts for 96% 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. This federal action will allow us the time we need to evaluate claims for overpayment waivers, which we will be announcing soon.. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. A new system will allow for quick analysis of data that is currently not possible for the agency. 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 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." Affected claimants will receive notification in their MiWAM account, or by U.S. mail. 2 regarding overpayments. The agency expects more rounds in the future. May 04, 2022 The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) announced today that over 55,000 claimants will not have to pay back a total of approximately $431 Built a new, user-friendly website that is more responsive to those using a mobile phone or tablet to access services. You may want to repay the overpayment as quickly as possible. Since July 2021, the UIA has waived more than $4.35 billion in overpayment debt related to federal pandemic jobless benefits programs on more than 407,300 claims. 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. We continue to monitor and advocate as the situation unfolds. 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. In May, Dale announced that collections on more than 55,000 claims will not have to be paid back, totaling approximately $431 million in overpayments of federal pandemic unemployment benefits. Dale said the agency is still working hard to identify workers who qualify for the next round of waivers. To date the UIA has waived over $4.3 billion in overpayment debt for more than 400,000 claimants with more to come. The new press release is lacking in details and reports that during a pause until May 7, 2022 UIA will not issue new wage garnishments or intercept State of Michigan tax refunds. It is still unknown on how waivers will be applied and how many or which people it will impact. He also authors the Morning Report Newsletter and various other newsletters. More Michiganders are still waiting. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. 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. But the agency continued to fight back against claimants who argued they didn't misreport their income. UIA 1901 (Spanish) - Unemployment Benefits in Michigan. If the UIA later decides that you still owe the overpayment, they might start trying to collect from you again. New waiver qualifications for Michiganders who received unemployment overpayments More people could qualify for Michigan's unemployment insurance agency Issuing waivers is a cornerstone of Director Dales reform of the UIA. In the report on Wednesday, the Free Press showed that in at least some of the cases, the mistake was the state's and not the claimants'. Meanwhile, apause on"new" wage garnishments and interceptions of state of Michigan tax refundsfor 398,000 claimants expired on May 7. He's been with WDIV since 2013. Support for Michigan Legal Help is provided by: Copyright 2023 Michigan Legal Help. If you run into problems, you may want to try to contact a lawyer. 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. Some Michigan residents who benefited from billions in overpaid pandemic unemployment assistance may not owe that money back after all. UIA will continue to look at COVID-19 pandemic claims to identify others that may qualify for waivers. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. What type of federal programs are affected? Release date: Friday, July 30, 2021. There is no application process. To date, more than $4.3 billion in overpayments have been waived for 400,000 Michigan unemployment recipients with likely thousands more still waiting. The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) announced today that over 55,000 claimants will not have to pay back a total of approximately $431 million in overpayments of federal pandemic unemployment benefits that the agency previously determined to have been improperly awarded. The web Browser you are currently using is unsupported, and some features of this site may not work as intended. 2023 Blanchard & Walker PLLC. Claimants can visitMichigan.gov/UIAto access their MiWAM account to chat with an agent. UIA will continue to review all overpayment claims to see how many more may be eligible for waivers. The waiver only covers past All Rights Reserved. Over the past three months, we have waived more than $484.2 million on 62,300 claims. Collaborated with the Attorney Generals office to combat fraud at the agency. The Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) is now reviewing the categories added Monday and determining how many other claims might qualify for waivers under When the hearing is scheduled, the judges office will send a Notice of Telephone Hearing to you in the mail. The appeal process and deadlines are still the same. Blanchard & Walker PLLC 221 North Main St., Suite 300 Ann Arbor, MI 48104, UIA CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AND WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW, Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Discrimination, PROFESSIONAL LICENSING AND DISCIPLINARY REVIEW, BW Wins Approval for $1.95M Delivery Driver Settlement. If you need help with the Public File, call (313) 222-0566. Your next steps will depend on whether you agree or disagree with the UIAs determination letter. The refund might not mean that the case is over. Overpaid claimants who provided the Michigan UIA with gross earnings instead of net earnings will be the group to get waivers. WebEligible Unemployment Claimants Granted Overpayment Waivers. You may get notices about your case during the collections pause. Dale announced last week waivers on approximately 7,300 overpayment claims that waived $53.2 million in repayments. If you get a refund, make sure you carefully read any notices or information you get explaining the refund. Each letter will have a due date printed on it for when the appeal is due. More than 55,000 unemployment insurance claimants who received benefits in the pandemic but were later told they were overpaid got waivers and will be refunded if they started paying back their overpayment, Michigan's Unemployment Insurance Agency said Wednesday. Waivers for unemployment claimants who received overpayment letters may come this weekend, Waivers for unemployment overpayments could start to roll out by end of the month, paused "new" wage garnishments and interceptions of State of Michigan tax refunds, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Three months after the U.S. Department of Labor guidance was issued, the first group of blanket waivers went out to "For those who have responded, we're reviewing their cases to determine if they have an eligible COVID-19 related reason and if they may continue to receive benefits," said Acting UIA Director Liza Estlund Olson. 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. The suspension through Oct. 31, 2022, halts collections on unemployment benefits programs launched under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and its extensions: 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. UIA has notified claimants who received waivers by posting messages to their Michigan Web Account Manager (MiWAM) accounts. If you believe you are eligible for benefits and the UIA made a mistake, you can ask for a waiver due to agency error. Another round of waivers will go to claimants who received unclear instructions about gross earnings versus net earnings when applying for benefits, the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency said in a May 27 news release. 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 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. There are other actions that can be taken if fraud is suspected. If you lose your appeal in front of an ALJ, read What If I Lose My Appeal? below. He enjoys suffering through Lions games on Sundays in the fall. Select Your County for Lawyers and Other Housing Help, An administrative or clerical error is discovered, You had a legitimate inability to act earlier, The notice or decision arrived late in the mail and you could not respond sooner, You were misled by incorrect information from the UIA, Take your federal and/or Michigan income tax refund. 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