Kalamazoo Times

After millions of residents in Michigan lost their jobs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rep. Matt Hall (R-Marshall), a member of the Joint Select Committee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, is working with the committee to receive answers from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on unemployment insurance. 

Many Michigan residents have been waiting months to receive benefits from the Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA), according to Michigan House Republicans. 

"While UIA understandably struggled to handle the incoming surge of claims, the agency was slow to ask for outside help and staff up to meet the new demand. When I’ve asked UIA officials what the Legislature can do to help, they provide few answers," Hall said, according to Michigan House Republicans. "One request they did make was for the Legislature to appropriate $29.1 million in federal funds for the agency to hire up to 500 new temporary workers. The Legislature provided this funding, and now we’re counting on UIA to deliver. On June 29, UIA assigned more employees to the phones and doubled the calls they handled for that week."

Rep. Matt Hall | Michigan House Republicans

The UIA said those who filed for benefits before May 1 have had their cases adjudicated, but legislators are still hearing complaints from residents. 

Hall said one reason for this is the technology system the agency is using. UIA Director Steve Gray said the system is designed for federal compliance, not data transparency. 

On May 21, the UIA then reported criminals using stolen personal information to claim unemployment benefits. 

"This raises questions about the adequacy of fraud detection tools the agency had in place," Hall wrote in his column, which also appeared in The Detroit News. "Because of the widespread previously undetected fraud, 340,000 accounts were frozen and claimants waited weeks to verify their identity and continue receiving their payments. We need to learn what went wrong so we can better protect our unemployment system from fraudulent claims moving forward."

The UIA then had to reissue duplicate payments to the actual claimants. But thousands of residents are still waiting on decisions for their claims, because the department has to determine whether they are fraudulent.

"I have heard from many claimants who say they would feel better if they could simply set up an appointment at a regional UIA office. Even if that appointment was a few weeks out, at least they would have some peace of mind knowing their claim would be resolved by a certain date. Yet for weeks, UIA has said they are still working on a plan to reopen their regional offices -- even while Secretary of State offices figured it out on June 1," Hall said in his op-ed. "UIA spent $20,000 on a public relations firm. But people are still waiting weeks for answers. A good relationship starts with good communication, and UIA must hold up its end for residents working through this crisis."