Over the Thanksgiving holiday, a report from Michigan's Office of the Auditor General brought to light substantial issues with the state's unemployment system, specifically the Unemployment Insurance Agency's (UIA) response to the pandemic.
The report detailed two major findings. Chief among the issues was that "the UIA improperly paid $3.9 billion to claimants now classified as ineligible."
It also showed the UIA reviewed its Pandemic Unemployment Assistance eligibility criteria and was given guidance in October of 2020 to remove four improper criteria. The UIA did not remove any of them.
13 On Your Side has received numerous viewer calls looking for help, claiming the state has sent letters demanding the benefits they received be paid back.
"I am struggling big time," said Nikki Ingram, a single mother from Grand Rapids. "I can't support getting food all the time, I can't fix my car that needs fixing, I haven’t been able to pay any bills really.”
Ingram says she was exceptionally careful to follow all of the rules, filing only for loss of wages through Pandemic Unemployment Assistance in October of 2020 before switching jobs later in the pandemic.
"They stopped giving me unemployment in May 16, saying they were reviewing my case," she said. "Then in October, that’s when I got a notice saying I owe 4,000 dollars.”
She can't get a clear answer when she calls their office. She's tried everyone from UIA all the way up to Governor Gretchen Whitmer's office, but says she gets a different answer every time.
"I’ve explained how much I followed the rules, I only certified when I need, and I didn’t certify when I didn’t need it," She said. "I should not be owing 4,000 dollars, because that’s my money that they owe me.”
A joint oversight committee meeting Tuesday afternoon began the process of asking how the UIA could have gone so wrong. 13 On Your Side spoke to state representative Dave LaGrand before that hearing started. According to LaGrand, there was a perfect storm of issues.
One was a computer system that didn't properly flag ineligible claims. Another was the influx of claims due to closings associated with COVID-19, and the third was a lack of staffing to handle all of those new claims at the start of the pandemic or throughout it.
“So we said, look you don’t even have to submit documentation," LaGrand said of the early pandemic months. "Just tell us you need unemployment insurance and we will provisionally believe you.”
Complaints about the UIA or other unemployment issues can be filed by following this link.
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