Thursday, March 21, 2024

When Will Unemployment Start Again In Michigan

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What Is The Federal

Record unemployment leaves Michigan residents worrying about benefits

Another unemployment extension program is the Federal-State Extended Duration , also called Extended Benefits . You can only qualify for EB unemployment benefits extension if you have exhausted all of your regular unemployment benefits and also used up all of your EUC08 unemployment extension. If you qualify for an EB unemployment extension, you will receive additional benefits in the amount of 20 weeks or 80 percent of the maximum benefit amount on the original unemployment claim, whichever amount is less.

Remember, these programs are only available during high unemployment periods and that you cannot arbitrarily apply for an unemployment benefits extension in Michigan. If you are eligible for an unemployment extension, the government will notify you by mail.

Why The Federal Government Stepped In

The first stimulus, the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, was passed March 27 to help Americans and the economy through the coronavirus pandemic.

The CARES Act had lots of components, like $1,200 direct payments, an eviction moratorium and grants and forgivable loans to small businesses.

It also allowed states to expand unemployment benefits to part-time and gig workers and, for a time, provided an additional $600 a week to anyone with a claim.

Outside of the pandemic, Michigan has an “incredibly low” recipiency rate, which means few people who are out of work actually get state unemployment benefits, said Rachael Kohl, Director of the University of Michigan Workers Rights Clinic. Michigan, unlike most states, excludes part-time workers, for example.

Nearly 700,000 Michigan workers are currently receiving benefits under the federal program.

When the pandemic hit, Michigan residents who normally would be ineligible to claim benefits were included. That makes the federal benefits “crucial” to the state’s economy, Kohl said.

The stimulus bill passed in December extends those benefits into March.

“It’s allowing people to continue to receive money who are not entitled to regular state benefits,” she said. “That’s unfortunately an extraordinarily high number of people in Michigan.”

How Long Will I Qualify For Mi Unemployment Benefits

Michigan allows residents to collect unemployment benefits for a maximum of 20 weeks per benefit year, regardless of wheter you find a job, stop benefits, and need to reapply later on in the year. This means there must be at least 52 weeks between Michigan unemployment claim filings to receive full benefits. For example:

  • If you lose your job in March 2020 and receive unemployment benefits, you qualify for 20 weeks of payments. If you receive 15 weeks of benefits and find a new job, youll have five remaining weeks of benefits to access. If you are laid off again in January of 2021, you can utilize these five weeks, and are not entitled to any further payments because a full calendar year has not passed since you first filed.
  • On the other hand, if 52 weeks has passed, you may be eligible to receive the full benefits period of 20 weeks. If you became unemployed in June 2019 and collected all 20 weeks of benefits, you are no longer eligible to receive any further payments for the year. Say you find a new job after that time and are employed. If you face another layoff after June 2020, youll be able to file a new claim and will qualify for the full 20 weeks because one whole calendar year has passed since your first claim.

In most cases, it is not possible to receive a Michigan unemployment extension. Previously, the state has only allowed extensions in times where economic downturn has created high Michigan unemployment rates.

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Reopening Your Claim For Benefits

  • Things to know when reopening an existing claim:

  • Do not create a new account. Use your same MiWAM username and password you used previously.
  • Visit Michigan.gov/uia for instructions if you forgot your MiWAM password.
  • Reopen your claim during the first week of unemployment or reduced work hours or wages.
  • Have your Employer Account number or Federal Identification Number . It may be provided by your employer or found on your W-2.
  • Payments will be made using the same payment method previously selected.
  • If you previously had a Bank of America card, the funds will be added to the card.
  • If you no longer have the BOA card, or have a problem with your existing card, contact Bank of America at 1-866-436-1964 or www.bankofamerica.com/miuiadebitcard.
  • To change your payment method, click the Claimant Services tab then click Modify Benefit Payment Method.
  • Be sure to read and respond to all requests for information to avoid payment delays.
  • When certifying for benefits, be sure to report your gross earnings in the week in which they were earned, not when you were paid.
  • After youve completed your claim, a Confirmation page will display the date of your next certification.

Reopen or File Your Claim Online with MiWAM at Michigan.gov/uia.

Questions? Contact UIA Customer Service at 1-866-500-0017 or Chat with an agent using MiWAM.

  • View the step by step video – Reopening Your Claim

    Reopening Your PUA Claim

What To Do Now

Michigan unemployment agency readies for second wave of ...
  • Keep filing your certifications

  • Through Sept. 4, keep filing for weeks that you want to receive benefits. If your normal certification is after Sept. 4, to be paid for that week you need to certify on your regularly scheduled day and time.

Watch for – and respond to – future messages

  • If you are affected by the end of the Federal pandemic programs, we will send you information in your MiWAM account or by mail. Respond to any of our requests for information. Even if you have stopped claiming benefits or found a job, we might still need to contact you. If there are additional changes to your account, you’ll receive a notice with information about how you can meet the deadline to protest or make an appeal. Continue to check your account for the next year to assure no new claims have been filed in your name. If you suspect fraud, report the fraud or identity theft through your MiWAM account. Links can be found on the MiWAM homepage. Or you can call the fraud hotline at 866-500-0017.

Don’t throw away your new debit card

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Unemployment Update: Federal Benefits Now Available Along With Answers To Other Faqs

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act extends an additional $600 in federal unemployment insurance benefits to displaced employees. The state began issuing the extra payments on April 9, meaning the federal UI benefits will be deposited alongside a claimants next scheduled state UI benefit deposit.

Do you have other questions about the UI provisions in the CARES Act? We have answers to some of our members most commonly asked questions here.

Does everyone get the extra $600 in PUC, or just some claimants? Its our understanding that if a claimant qualifies for even $1 in state UI benefits, they qualify for the full $600 in federal PUC benefits. This includes people receiving checks because they are in the states Work Share Program and those who may have seen their hours reduced due to COVID-19 or otherwise.

Do claims receive their PUC payment on top of their state weekly benefit amount? Yes, claimants will receive their state weekly benefit amount plus the additional $600 per week in federal UI benefits, for a maximum of $962 per week. The two deposits should be issued together. Since the President signed the CARES Act on March 27 but the state is just beginning to process these payments, $600 PUC will be paid retroactively for weeks of benefits beginning March 29.

Some of my employees will be able to make more on unemployment than they do working? Isnt this going to be a disincentive to getting people back to work when the time is right?

What To Know About The Unemployment Tax Break

The first thing to know is that refunds would only go to taxpayers who received jobless benefits last year and paid taxes on that money before the provision in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The tax break is for those who earned less than $150,000 in adjusted gross income and for unemployment insurance received during 2020. At this stage, unemployment compensation received this calendar year will be fully taxable on 2021 tax returns.

The $10,200 tax break is the amount of income exclusion for single filers, not the amount of the refund . The amount of the refund will vary per person depending on overall income, tax bracket and how much earnings came from unemployment benefits. So far, the refunds have averaged more than $1,600.

However, not everyone will receive a refund. The IRS can seize the refund to cover a past-due debt, such as unpaid federal or state taxes and child support. One way to know if a refund has been issued is to wait for the letter that the IRS is sending taxpayers whose returns are corrected. Those letters, issued within 30 days of the adjustment, will tell you if it resulted in a refund or if it was used to offset debt.

If the IRS continues issuing refunds, they will go out as a direct deposit if you provided bank account information on your 2020 tax return. A direct deposit amount will likely show up as IRS TREAS 310 TAX REF. Otherwise, the refund will be mailed as a paper check to whatever address the IRS has on hand.

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Michigan Workers Losing Federal Unemployment Benefits This Weekend

State has paid out over $38 billion to 2.4 million unemployed workers since March 2020

LANSING, Mich. – A pay cut is coming for 442,000 unemployed Michigan workers this weekend.

The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency says the end of four federal programs will reduce or eliminate payments to 442,000 people statewide still claiming them.

Saturday is the last day for Michigan workers to accrue benefits from the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, Pandemic Unemployment Compensation and Mixed Earners Unemployment Compensation programs.

Workers who are receiving those benefits can claim them one more time for this week when they certify their next unemployment insurance claims beginning Sunday. No money from any of the four programs will be paid out for days of unemployment after Saturday.

Michigans top unemployment benefit reverts back to $362 per week next week.

PUA pays unemployment benefits to workers who ordinarily arent eligible, which as self-employed workers or independent contractors. PEUC allows an additional 53 weeks of unemployment benefits after workers exhaust six months of state benefits.

PUC provided an additional $300 weekly benefit on top of state benefits while MEUC provides an additional $100 per week for workers who earned at least $5,000 in self employment income.

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Uia Update: All Pua Peuc Claimants Can Now Reopen Or Certify Unemployment Claims

Unemployment benefits expand, but website for Michigan workers to apply crashes again

The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency has completed system updates for the recently extended federal unemployment insurance programs. All remaining Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation claimants whose claims ended when CARES Act programs were interrupted in December can now either reopen, certify or apply for benefits available under the Continued Assistance Act . Claimants were notified by the UIA with information and instructions regarding the changes.

The CAA allows PEUC and PUA claimants an additional 11 weeks of benefits payable for the week ending Jan. 2 through March 13, 2021. Payments also include the additional $300 Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation weekly benefit.

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In 4 Michiganders On Unemployment May Not Get Their Benefits This Week

The National Christmas Tree glows with lights on the Ellipse near the White House, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020, on Christmas Eve in Washington. AP

The majority of Michigan workers on unemployment wont be getting their benefits on time this week.

Yet, this is a rosier outlook than in recent days, when it looked like millions of Americans could be yanked from eligibility altogether if President Donald Trump would have vetoed the $908 billion COVID-19 stimulus package, as he hinted. Instead, Trump agreed to sign the deal Sunday, Dec. 27.

Federal unemployment programs from the CARES Act called Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation expired at the end of last week.

People on PUA and PEUC wont be getting paid on time for the week of Dec. 28 but will eventually receive the funds for the week, said Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency spokeswoman Lynda Robinson.

This will only be a disruption and claimants will be made whole once the extensions are fully implemented, Robinson said in an email. Michigan, like all states must wait until guidance is issued from the U.S. Dept. of Labor before we can begin implementing the programs.

Its unclear how long that might take, UIA officials said.

As of Dec. 5, there were 839,253 people in Michigan receiving unemployment. Of those, 619,720 nearly 74% were receiving benefits through the federal PUA or PEUC programs because they werent eligible for state dollars.

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Enhanced Unemployment Extensions Under Covid Relief Stimulus Bill

Common sense has prevailed and President Trump has now signed the $900 billion COVID relief stimulus bill into law, despite his reservations and following widespread condemnation against his last minute complaints. This now releases, among many other items, funding for the enhanced unemployment benefit programs and stimulus checks to millions of Americans.

For those receiving UI benefits under the PUA and PEUC programs you should continue certifying weekly as payments will be made retroactively once the final bill is approved. While you wont receive payments, you want to ensure you dont face delays when back payments start. For those who have exhausted their benefits, they will have to unfortunately have to wait until the final bill is passed before next steps are known.

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Unemployment Benefit Extensions Per Dol Guidelines

The initial Biden stimulus package passed in the House included a $400 FPUC extra weekly payment but in order to get all Democrats in the Senate onboard it had to be cut back to $300 p/week. This amount is the same as the $300 weekly supplement approved under the CAA COVID relief bill was funded until March 14th, 2021 but will now be extended through to week ending September 4th, 2021. This provides another 25 weekly payments for a maximum of $7,500.

The $300 weekly FPUC payment lines up with the programs. Claimants should be able to rollover remaining weeks from the CAA funded extensions to the extended Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation programs. You can see a graphical representation of the past, current and proposed enhanced unemployment program extensions in the diagram below. See a full review of DOL guidelines this article.

See the following articles for more information on these enhanced unemployment extensions and payment status

Are You Eligible For Unemployment In Michigan

Unemployment In Michigan Call

The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency handles unemployment compensation and decides whether claimants are eligible for benefits. You must meet the following three eligibility requirements to collect unemployment benefits in Michigan:

  • You must be unemployed through no fault of your own, as defined by Michigan law.
  • You must have earned at least a minimum amount in wages before you were unemployed.
  • You must be able and available to work, and you must be actively seeking employment.

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Your Guide To Unemployment Benefits In Michigan

Michigan residents who have lost their job through no fault of their own can qualify for unemployment benefits. The State of Michigan provides this safety net in situations where workers have become unemployed due to a layoff, a labor dispute, or being placed on mandatory leave of absence.

Michigan unemployment benefits and unemployment compensation are meant to provide a temporary source of income until you are able to find another job. This service is provided by the states Unemployment Insurance Agency . All employers in the state pay unemployment taxes, which are then paid out weekly to workers who lose their jobs.

Is It Too Late To Apply For Unemployment Insurance

If you’ve been laid off or furloughed, you can apply for unemployment benefits in your state. Once the state approves your claim, you can apply to receive whatever state benefits you’re entitled to. Because states cover 30% to 50% of a person’s wages, there isn’t a single sum you could expect on a national basis. Each state’s unemployment insurance office provides information to file a claim with the program in the state where you worked. Some claims may be filed in person, by phone or online, so it’s best to contact your state’s office directly.

Eligibility criteria vary from state to state, but the general rule is that you should apply if you’ve lost your job or been laid off through no fault of your own, including if it was due directly or indirectly to the pandemic. You can check on your state’s requirements here. In February, the Department of Labor updated its unemployment eligibility requirements to include people who refused to return to work due to unsafe coronavirus standards.

As for self-employed workers and freelancers who are losing PUA coverage, some online groups are calling to extend pandemic unemployment programs through the crisis and offer more information.

You might also want to know about the IRS issuing refunds to those who were taxed on their 2020 unemployment benefits. And here’s an important primer on the 2021 enhanced child tax credit, which is offering millions of families extra money in advance of next year’s taxes.

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Workers Eligible For Pandemic Unemployment Assistance

Pandemic Unemployment Assistance is still in place. The law that expired does not include PUA. The following groups of workers can still be eligible for benefits under the PUA expansion:

  • Self-employed people

  • Gig workers such as musicians, photographers, and other workers that get paid per event worked

  • Low-wage workers and those with limited work history

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