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 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. 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. If you were overpaid benefits and you are currently employed, contact the UIA Benefit Overpayment In February, the request for expanded waivers was granted. 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. To date, the agency said it has waived more than $4.3 billion in overpayment debt for more than 400,000 claimants. An overpayment happens when you receive more unemployment money than you should have received. Claimants who receive waivers were sent a message in their Michigan Web Account Manager (MiWAM) online accounts. Reassigned staff and resources to address the largest categories of claims that are contributing to the agencys case backlog. 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. 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. 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. 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. Although waivers for 55,000 more claimants is a good step forward, it fell short The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. In some cases, the UIA might send a refund of payments you have already made. Were not finished providing substantial relief to Michigan workers, said UIA Director Julia Dale. When we work any claim we recognize that each one represents a worker who has fallen on hard times, and a family that needs help to put food on the table, pay bills and keep a roof over their heads, Dale said. If you cant show good cause, the decision that you were overpaid will become final. 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. Michigan erases $431M in pandemic unemployment overpayments. This round of waivers accounts for 96% Over the past three months, we have waived more than $484.2 million on 62,300 claims. Michigan ice We offer a wealth of free workplace-related information in our Employee Rights and Information Center. Were not finished providing substantial relief to Michigan workers, said UIA Director Julia Dale. In May, UIA applied waivers to 55,000 claims UIA will continue to look at COVID-19 pandemic claims to identify others that may qualify for waivers. Use the Guide to Legal Help to find a legal services office near you. 2023 Blanchard & Walker PLLC. 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.. Thanks to these waivers that we fought for and secured Michiganders will get to keep their hard-earned money.. 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. 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. Around $11 million was refunded to Michiganders who had paid or begun paying back these benefits. Waivers will be granted to the initial group of approximately 350,000 non-responses, many of whom may no longer be collecting benefits. Convenient times and dates are available. Please see q. If claimants qualify for a waiver, UIA will notify them through an online message to their Michigan Web Account Manager (MiWAM) accounts and by a letter mailed to the address on file. Convenient times and dates are available. The agency said in an emailed news release that fewer waivers went out than expected because additional testing over the last weekrevealed that theearly numbers overlapped with waivers issued last fall by the agency. 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. 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 suspension stops new wage garnishments and State of Michigan tax refund intercepts and is the second time UIA Director Julia Dale has worked with U.S. DOL to grant the suspension to provide relief for Michigan workers. The announcement came in the wake of allegations of unconstitutional overpayment collection notices sent out to thousands of Michigan residents. UIA has notified claimants who received waivers by posting messages to their Michigan Web Account Manager (MiWAM) accounts. "For those who did not respond, we want to assure them that claimants who are no longer eligible won't have to return the money they received when, through no fault of their own, they chose one of the four non-eligible reasons.". They weren't told by Michigan's UIA until Friday that they would receive a waiver. 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. Lynda Robinson, a spokesperson for the agency, said she didn't have any estimates on how many claimants may also qualify for a waiver and when they might receive one. "We wont stop fighting until weve corrected past mistakes made by this agency so that not one innocent Michigander will face consequences as a result of asking for help they needed,"Julia Dale, thedirector of Michigan's UIA, said in the release. A new press release is lacking in details and reports the Agency intends to pause collections through May 7: During the pause, UIA will not issue new wage garnishments or intercept State of Michigan tax refunds. The agency said it continues to work with its software vendor FAST Enterprises and the Michigan Department of Technology, Managementand Budget toidentify other groups of claimants who might also qualify for an overpayment waiver. 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. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). To date, more than $4.3 billion in overpayments have been waived for 400,000 Michigan unemployment recipients with likely thousands more still waiting. More Michiganders are still waiting. All rights reserved. Michigans unemployment agency announced another round of waivers and refunds for filers who were overpaid and asked to pay back the 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 workers in Michigan. The waivers will apply to state and federal benefits that claimants received between March 15, 2020, and May 30, 2021, under a state jobless claim, extended benefits, or Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC). 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. Advocates continue to have discussions with the Agency leadership, and we are closely tracking when and how waivers will be issued to benefit the broadest possible class of Michigan residents who have suffered through this pandemic. Michigan has yet to adopt this standard, but it now seems poised to do so. If you find supporting documents later on, you can add them. schedule an in-person, phone or online appointment. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. 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. When the hearing is scheduled, the judges office will send a Notice of Telephone Hearing to you in the mail. Video of the Day 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. Hopefully, the Agency will issue guidance soon. According to recent reporting, the waiver program was much smaller than promised. 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. 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. According to recent reporting, the waiver program was much smaller than promised. Dale said the agency is still working hard to identify workers who qualify for the next round of waivers. If you want to appeal to the UIAC, you may want to speak with a lawyer. Once you have logged into your account, click on the "Determination Status" tab, and then click on "file an appeal.". 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. Read Appealing a Protest above to learn more. Claimants say UIA is lying, More: Attorney for jobless claimants asks judge to stop Michigan from garnishing their wages. Waivers issued earlier this month erased overpayments for 55,000 people caught in an agency mistake. Affected claimants will receive notification in their MiWAM account, or by U.S. mail. 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. Already, weve issued 55,000 waivers for people who needed help and did nothing wrong, but thats not good enough, Dale said. Make sure to keep your contact information updated in your Michigan Web Account Manager (MiWAM) account so you get any notices from the UIA. In May, UIA applied waivers to 55,000 claims totaling $431 million. (WXMI) Relief could soon be coming for Michiganders who were told they would have to pay back unemployment money. Related: Unemployment waivers bring relief to thousands. If you run into problems, you may want to try to contact a lawyer. 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. 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." 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. More rounds of waivers expected, offering relief to workers. Please update to a modern browser such as Chrome, Firefox or Edge to experience all features Michigan.gov has to offer. 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 We do not know how long this pause will last or when the UIA will start trying to collect these overpayments again. 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. Contact Adrienne Roberts: amroberts@freepress.com. But the agency continued to fight back against claimants who argued they didn't misreport their income. Contact us to request a meeting with one of our attorneys. 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". Dale is also going after 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. The web Browser you are currently using is unsupported, and some features of this site may not work as intended. Select a county above for resources near you, Helping Michigan residents solve their legal problems, Are You Being Evicted? Once you have logged into your account, click on the "Determination Status" tab, and then click on "file a protest.". 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 UIA has said it is reviewing how the categories would apply to claims in Michigan and determining how quickly the waivers could be issued. Built a new, user-friendly website that is more responsive to those using a mobile phone or tablet to access services. Many more have never been told why they werent paid the benefits owed, and they still just wait nearly two years later. 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. The federal waiver standard allows a state to waive benefit overpayments if: The May 2021 guidance from the Department of Labor also created two specific circumstances when states may use the standard to issue blanket waivers and waive overpayments automatically, when: In a letter sent to the Michigan Governor in December 2021, advocates for UI claimants urged the administration to adopt this standard, as many other states such as Illinois and Wisconsin already have. If your protests were filed on time, the UIA is not allowed to collect money before your case is final. It specifically said states could apply blanket waivers for overpayments for claimants who were approvedfor a higher weekly benefit amount than what they should have received. WebThe UIA is responsible for collecting overpayments of unemployment benefits. The refund might not mean that the case is over. 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Director Dale is committed to ensuring that no Michigan family be forced to repay benefits due to changes that affected their claims after they applied for benefits. Your Notice of Telephone Hearing will have instructions on how to do this. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Julia Dale directs the state Unemployment Insurance Agency. Dale announced last week waivers on approximately 7,300 overpayment claims that waived $53.2 million in repayments. An independent report published late last year found Michigan paid $8.5 billion in fraudulent or intentional misrepresentation unemployment payments. This federal action will allow us the time we need to evaluate claims for overpayment waivers, which we will be announcing soon.. 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. Roughly 350,000 waivers were distributed in July 2021 so Michiganders would not have to repay overpayments that were received by no fault of their own. 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. A motion for preliminary injunction to suspend collections on these overpayments is currently being considered by Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Brock Swartzle. 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. News Update: Promised Waivers fall short. The Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) is now reviewing the categories added Monday and determining how many other claims might qualify for waivers under 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. Interest accumulates very quickly on unemployment overpayments. Claimants say UIA is lying, Attorney for jobless claimants asks judge to stop Michigan from garnishing their wages, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. The claimants provided the information and documentation required by the agency but were later told they were ineligible for the benefits they received. 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. 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. On April 8, 2022 the Unemployment Insurance Agency announced a new promise to halt new collections activity and waive overpayments. Ken Haddad is the digital content and audience manager for WDIV / ClickOnDetroit.com. How Do I Join a Class Action and How Does it Work for Me? 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. The federal government has expanded its criteria for who can get a waiver that would let people keep that money. Implemented new policies for employees and contractors, including fingerprinting, criminal background checks, and an updated ethics policy. At every turn, I will stand up and fight on behalf of Michiganders to make sure they get what they were promised. 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. Good cause can be very hard to prove. Contact Adrienne Roberts: amroberts@freepress.com. Your next steps will depend on whether you agree or disagree with the UIAs determination letter. 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. What type of federal programs are affected? Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Please update to a modern browser such as Chrome, Firefox or Edge to experience all features Michigan.gov has to offer. Some claimants have received a waiver. 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. We will update this page if we get more information. There is no application process. That's an average of about $7,800 per claimant that was waived. Claimants can also call UIAs Customer Service at 1-866-500-0017. Those with questions about the suspension or overpayments can go to Michigan.gov/UIAand click on the Schedule an Appointmentlink to speak with a trained staff member either in person, by phone or online. Disclaimer & Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Sitemap. 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. In some situations, the UIA may send you actual bills for an overpayment. Screenshots from some who received benefitsand instructionalvideos posted by the agencyshow itactually hadasked fortotalpay, not net pay. The agencypaused "new" wage garnishments and interceptions of State of Michigan tax refunds for 398,000 claimants starting in early April, but that pause expires Saturday. Please note that contacting us does not create any attorney-client relationship between you and our firm. To date, the agency said ithas waived more than$4.3 billion in overpayment debt for more than 400,000claimants. A new system will allow for quick analysis of data that is currently not possible for the agency. LANSING, MI More Michiganders who asked to repay their pandemic jobless aid will soon have their overpayments erased. 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. Michigans unemployment agency announced another round of waivers and refunds for filers who were overpaid and asked to pay back the overpayment. If states adopt the federal waiver standard, the new Department of Labor guidance would allow blanket waivers to be issued automatically to hundreds of thousands of Michigan residents who fall in specific categories. The appeal process and deadlines are still the same. 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. The waivers will apply to state and federal benefits that claimants received between March 15, 2020, and May 30, 2021, under a state jobless claim, extended benefits, or Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC). If you have supporting evidence, like a doctor's note or proof of earnings, include them along with the protest. 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.. 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. 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.