Michigan has been severely struck financially in the last year due to the Covid crisis leading to the fall of many businesses, and the Michigan state has been facing unemployment issues. Unfortunately, the situation is coming under grasp slowly due to the government's policies that constantly provide unemployment benefits.

For more information regarding unemployment benefits, go through this guide to get a clear idea about what you should do. You will also get a clear picture regarding the unemployment insurance agency through it.

Firstly, if you want to get the aid, you must apply for the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) benefits. For this, you need to check if you are eligible to apply for the aid or not.

Michigan Unemployment apply

Michigan Unemployment eligibility criteria are listed below –

  • Currently not working full time or part-time.
  • You worked and got paid for the last 18 months.
  • You are actively looking for work and can work.
  • You are available for work, and you are not responsible for Jobless.

Details needed to apply for Michigan Unemployment benefits

Now, once you are sure about your eligibility, you can apply for unemployment benefits. You will need the following information to use.

  1. Social Security Number
  2. Driver's license/state ID number
  3. A mail address along with zip code and country
  4. Address and Name of your employers for the last 18 months.
  5. Details of each work for the last 18 months
  6. Your PIN from any past unemployment claims.

**If you are not a U.S. citizen, provide your alien registration number and your details of work authorization.

How to apply for MI Unemployment benefits

You can apply online or through phone, or in person. It usually takes about 45 minutes to apply online, and you need to fulfill the following criteria to reap Michigan unemployment benefits.

  1. For the last 18 months, you have worked for 1-19 Michigan employers.
  2. You worked under a single social security number
  3. You have your employer's mail address.
  4. You have not filed an unemployment claim with any other state in the past year.

Also, while applying, you need to specify details regarding whether you were fired, laid off, or quit your prior employment. Depending on these details, the state's unemployment insurance agency will decide whether you get jobless aid or not.

Register for Work in Michigan State

To register for work, you need to register with Pure Michigan Talent Connect. You can register either online or go in person. Also, the registration should be minimum of 3 days before your unemployment payment.

The following details and documents are required for this process –

  • Photo ID like Driver's license, Permanent Resident Card, or State ID.
  • Official document containing both social security number and a name like social security card or employment document.
  • A hard copy of your resume.

What happens next after applying for MI State Unemployment benefits

After you are done with all the above formalities, UIA will decide on your eligibility. Then you will get mailed a determination. The mail will include the weekly benefit amount and payments. If you pass the eligibility test, you get the Unemployment Benefit Booklet. For further queries regarding terms and conditions on the details, you are allowed to protest and request UIA to reevaluate your claims.

How to claim your Benefits at UIA

To claim your benefits, you must give an account of specific details once every two weeks to UIA.

Report online at MiWAM portal

You can claim through Michigan Web Account Manager (MiWAM), which is open 24X7.

Report via Phone

Report to MARVIN (Michigan's Automated Response Voice Interactive Network) at 866-638-3993 between 8:00 am and 7:00 pm (except Sundays). You need a secret four-digit Personal Identification Number (PIN) to use it.

What happens if you do not report?

If you do not report on time, you may be charged with fraud, and you can get disqualified from the employment benefits. But suppose you have a legit reason for not reporting something like a family loss, attending a funeral, working.

In that case, a storm or any disaster making it impossible to connect and report and such, they may consider your claim, and you will get paid for the concerning weeks. So, always keep your employer, and UIA updated regarding every detail and contact information.

In the meantime, Michigan residents who applied for Jobless should do valid work search activities and submit a record of their work search with reasonable work hours and payment every month.

While receiving the benefits, you must accept jobs too. Also, local unemployment offices may help you in this regard. Michigan Works can also assist job seekers and provide training and services to get back to work.

Learn about Unemployment rules updates

Sadly, one-fifth of Michigan's residents who had received unemployment benefits during the past year of the pandemic is now not eligible for the help as the criteria do not meet the federal government's standards.

The agency now has 690,092 flagged unemployment recipients and needs to reevaluate all the claims. In addition, another 42,092 who were at first denied for the benefits now may qualify for the same. This state's mistake has made a considerable distrust and panic among benefit receivers claiming that it is unjust and ignorant on their part for such a huge mistake.

As the program continues, the U.S. Department of labor has become stricter regarding what can and cannot be included in the guidelines.

Also, huge unemployment is observed among Michigan restaurants during the pandemic as they struggle with customers and staffing. Even though the restrictions on restaurants were few, they are finding it difficult to run smoothly, and many are on the verge of collapsing.

Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA)

PUA is a short-term federal program that offers an average of 50 weeks of unemployment benefits to the people of Michigan. The individuals who can receive PUA benefits are not eligible for regular Unemployment Insurance (UI). Those people include –

  1. Self-employed people
  2. Individual contractors (terms and conditions applied)
  3. People without any extended work history
  4. Other unemployed workers who were not covered by regular UI.

Expanded PUA eligibility

The U.S. Department of labor, as of late February 2021, has further extended the PUA eligibility to include people with more than three COVID-related issues. The criteria that they included are stated as follows –

  1. People who are not returning to their work (any time employment) due to risks of COVID, as if they may be unsafe there or not accepting any new job offers for the same reason (This means that the workplace does not meet the standards of safety-related to COVID-19).
  2. Individuals who have experienced reduced hours in their work or permanent lay off due to the Covid crisis.
  3. People who directly worked in the education department are now wholly or partly unemployed due to COVID-19.

New PUA requirements

There are specific new requirements that came with the unique Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits.

Present proof of unemployment –

  • Individuals who want to claim PUA benefits must submit proof of unemployment or self-employment to the concerned authority. Then you will need to submit documents as requested by UIA separately. The request will have a list of the additional required information, a deadline date for submission, and a list of acceptable proofs.
  • People applying for PUA benefits are needed to file a new application on or after January 31, 2021. They must provide UIA with the concerned documents within 21 days of the unemployment verification request they sent.
  • People who applied before January 31, 2021, or people that received payment due to PUA benefits on or after December 27, 2020, are needed to provide proof of unemployment or self-employment within 90 days from the employment verification request date that they had received from UIA. Also, individuals who planned to start employment or self-employment need to do the same.
  • If you fail to establish the proofs or fail to submit them on time, then your PUA benefits will stop, and you may need to return the PUA benefits that you had already received.

What do you need to do to reopen your claim?

  1. Sign in to your MiWAM.

If you notice "You have benefit weeks to certify" displayed on MiWAM, then there is no need for you to reopen the claim and follow the steps below to certify.

  1. Under Alerts find and click on "Additional Information Required- Click Here to File a PUA."

If you cannot find the specified link under Alerts, go to "Steps to reopen Your Claim" and follow the steps instructed under option 2 to reopen your claim.

3. Fill out the PUA reopen form.

  1. Click and submit the form. You will receive a confirmation shortly after that you successfully submit the form.

You will receive the state's letter containing information to help you recall your rights and benefits from the regular UI or PUA after the UIA has acknowledged your claims. It is sent to every claimant one month and six months after receiving your first payment.

House Oversight Committee scrutinizes the UIA

During the pandemic, Michigan's unemployment system has been heavily criticized for the past one and a half years due to its flawed terms and conditions and high inefficiency. The system has a series of major flaws, which had led to false claims, fewer benefits, and Michiganders being not appropriately paid.

Also, long waits, wrong bills, and failing to contact UIA were other principal citizens' concerns. Upon receiving such complaints, the House Oversight Committee has decided to oversee and investigate the UIA policies and methods in late August 2021.

Also, the intervention of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has been another issue as the Republican government claims there is no need for the federal government to supply $300 to the unemployed workers for the PUA claims as the republic has been working hard to get the situation under control and revert it to normal.

The republican government claims it to be the state's error that the Jobless rate has been so high that it does not make any sense for the federal government to keep paying unemployed people.

Frequently Asked Questions about Michigan jobless

How do you calculate unemployment benefits in Michigan?

How do I talk to someone at Michigan unemployment?

You can call any helpline number of the Michigan unemployment agency provided below or make a direct appointment with Customer Service for any inquiries.

Unemployment insurance customer service line:

1. For claimants; call 1-866-500-0017 -weekdays- 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
2. For employers: call 1-855-484-2636 – weekdays- 8 am to 5 pm.

Also, you can chat with a UIA representative through MiWAM.

Where do I apply for unemployment in Michigan?

You can apply for unemployment in Michigan at the Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA). You can also use for the claim via a toll-free telephone number – 1-866-500-0017 (1-866-366-0004 for TTY customers). Online application is also possible at:

https://www.michigan.gov/leo/0,5863,7-336-94422_97241—,00.html

There you will find an option called "Michigan Web Account Manager for Claimants and Employers". You can apply for unemployment there.

How much do you get from Michigan unemployment?

The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) considers your past 18-month earnings when you apply for the benefits. The maximum amount you can receive from the unemployment claim is $362 per week. At the same time, the lower bound is $81 per week. With the pandemic unemployment assistance, you get additional 13 weeks of benefits and 26 weeks of help under EO 2020-76.

Who handles Michigan unemployment?

Liza Eastlund Olson became the acting director of the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency in 2020 and has brought further changes and improvements to the system. The benefit is paid to the citizens using the Unemployment Trust fund maintained by UIA. The workers have gotten an enormous improvement in the service and benefits after the changes were brought in. This unemployment system has been a massive help to the workers of Michigan.