LANSING, Mich. — Michigan lawmakers increasingly frustrated over delayed unemployment benefits for people out of work due to the coronavirus pandemic are urging Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to reopen offices so the jobless can get in-person assistance.
Legislators from both parties say the dozen offices, closed due to COVID-19, should open their doors again, by appointment only.
The proposal is under consideration as Michigan still grapples with processing a backlog of claims while also confronting large-scale impostor fraud that led the Unemployment Insurance Agency to temporarily stop paying benefits to hundreds of thousands.
Michigan had the country’s third-highest jobless rate in May, at 21.2%.
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