YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Convenient times and dates are available. Meanwhile, apause on"new" wage garnishments and interceptions of state of Michigan tax refundsfor 398,000 claimants expired on May 7. The Michigan Legal Help website and affiliated local self-help centers are part of the Michigan Legal Help Program. If you were overpaid benefits and you are currently employed, contact the UIA Benefit Overpayment 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 To do this, go to your MiWAM account and click on the Claimant Services Tab. 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. 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 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. 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). Julia Dale, the director of the agency, told state lawmakers in early April that the agency expectedto send out waivers over this past weekendto about 382,000 claimants who received overpayment letters. 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. and last updated 7:40 PM, Feb 07, 2022. Reassigned staff and resources to address the largest categories of claims that are contributing to the agencys case backlog. To date, more than $4.3 billion in overpayments have been waived for 400,000 Michigan unemployment recipients with likely thousands more still waiting. Read Appealing a Protest above to learn more. The agency has paid a total of $39 billion in unemployment aid to 3.5 million Michigan residents since March 2020. If you lose your appeal in front of an ALJ, you can appeal to the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Commission (UIAC). When the hearing is scheduled, the judges office will send a Notice of Telephone Hearing to you in the mail. The UIA is responsible for collecting overpayments of unemployment benefits. 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. The federal jobless assistance programs were a critical lifeline for many Michiganders affected by the global pandemic and our action today means they will be able to continue to provide for their families without the fear of having to pay back benefits awarded through agency error.. UIA will continue to look at COVID-19 pandemic claims to identify others that may qualify for waivers. 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. 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. We do not know how long this pause will last or when the UIA will start trying to collect these overpayments again. News Update: Promised Waivers fall short. Support for Michigan Legal Help is provided by: Copyright 2023 Michigan Legal Help. Contact Adrienne Roberts: amroberts@freepress.com. Will the pause on collections continue? 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. Convenient times and dates are available. The UIA must get your appeal within 30 days from the date it is issued. The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) announced Friday that those who wrongfully received Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits will be The UIA has said it is reviewing how the categories would apply to claims in Michigan and is determining how quickly the waivers could be issued.. Contact us to request a meeting with one of our attorneys. We will update this page if we get more information. Of the roughly 690,000 claimants that were asked to requalify, about 241,000 responded to the UIA's request. No Michigander who did the right thing when applying for benefits should be required to pay anything back resulting from errors at the federal level. You may get notices about your case during the collections pause. Release date: Friday, July 30, 2021. Disclaimer & Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Sitemap. This is wonderful news for those who lost their job through no fault of their own, UIA Director Julia Dale said. If you get a refund, make sure you carefully read any notices or information you get explaining the refund. Issuing waivers is a cornerstone of Director Dales reform of the UIA. Waivers will be granted to the initial group of approximately 350,000 non-responses, many of whom may no longer be collecting benefits. 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'. Each letter will have a due date printed on it for when the appeal is due. If you cant show good cause, the decision that you were overpaid will become final. 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. Some claimants have received a waiver. 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." An overpayment happens when you receive more unemployment money than you should have received. If you become unemployed and get unemployment benefits while you still owe an overpayment, 50 percent (or 100 percent if fraud was involved in the original overpayment) of your weekly unemployment benefit payment will be taken for repayment. Each letter will have a due date printed on your determination for when the protest is due. Implemented new policies for employees and contractors, including fingerprinting, criminal background checks, and an updated ethics policy. Screenshots from some who received benefitsand instructionalvideos posted by the agencyshow itactually hadasked fortotalpay, not net pay. 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. My top priority is to help Michigan families. For example, a message to the UIA could say "I am writing to ask that the Unemployment Insurance Agency send a determination saying whether or not the overpayment is the result of agency error." Video of the Day We are aware that there are issues related to gross versus net income calculations on Pandemic Unemployment Assistance weekly benefit amounts, Dale said. More: Michigan Unemployment agency says claimants made big mistake. Over the past three months, we have waived more than $484.2 million on 62,300 claims. The agency did not provide an estimate on how many people were affected by the earnings mishap. In some situations, the UIA may send you actual bills for an overpayment. The news releasedidn't give an estimate as to how long it might take to issue waivers. 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. Letters will also be mailed to the address on file confirming the MiWAM notification. Please update to a modern browser such as Chrome, Firefox or Edge to experience all features Michigan.gov has to offer. Additional testing over the last week by FAST developers revealed the early numbers to overlap with waivers issued last fall by the agency. 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. UIA is performing an analysis to determine the total population impacted by this issue.. This federal action will allow us the time we need to evaluate claims for overpayment waivers, which we will be announcing soon.. Select Request Restitution Waiver for Financial Hardship and fill out the application. LANSING, MI More Michiganders who asked to repay their pandemic jobless aid will soon have their overpayments erased. 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. 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., Previous: 55,000 Michiganders wont have to pay back $431 million in improperly awarded unemployment benefits. Michigan has yet to adopt this standard, but it now seems poised to do so. 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. This means the UIA should stop sending collection letters or doing anything else to make people pay these overpayments. Some claimants have received a waiver. Copyright 2023 ClickOnDetroit.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group, a division of Graham Holdings. Collaborated with the Attorney Generals office to combat fraud at the agency. In February, the request for expanded waivers was granted. Convenient times and dates are available. Their own, UIA Director Julia Dale said case backlog a Notice of hearing. Those who lost their job through no fault of their own, UIA Director Julia Dale said date Friday! 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