This federal action will allow us the time we need to evaluate claims for overpayment waivers, which we will be announcing soon.. Implemented new policies for employees and contractors, including fingerprinting, criminal background checks, and an updated ethics policy. There is not an application for this on MiWAM, but you can ask for the waiver by going to your main account page and finding the link "Send Unemployment a Message". Ask the UIA to issue a determination to tell you if the overpayment is the result of the UIAs error. To date, more than $4.3 billion in overpayments have been waived for 400,000 Michigan unemployment recipients with likely thousands more still waiting. The agency said it has requestedan extension from the U.S. Department of Labor of apause oncollection activities such aswage garnishments and interceptions by theState of Michigan. Collaborated with the Attorney Generals office to combat fraud at the agency. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. You can appeal online through your MiWAM account. In addition, approximately $2.4 million will be refunded to claimants who were paying back benefits received or applied toward overpayments not covered by the waivers. Claimants who received waivers had messages 2023 Blanchard & Walker PLLC. 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). Claimants can also call UIAs Customer Service at 1-866-500-0017. If you got unemployment benefits under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, you may have received a notice for overpayment. If a waiver does not apply, collections will resume. Were not finished providing substantial relief to Michigan workers, said UIA Director Julia Dale. It is still unknown on how waivers will be applied and how many or which people it will impact. Additionally, roughly $11 million will be refunded to claimants who had been paying back their federal benefits overpayment, or it will be applied to any outstanding debt a claimant may have. WebUIA 1795 - Request to Waive Repayment of Benefit Overpayment Balance UIA 1925 - Request for Name and/or Address Change UIA 6102 Authorization for UIA to Release Confidential The appeal process and deadlines are still the same. When we work any claim we recognize that each one represents a worker who has fallen on hard times, and a family that needs help to put food on the table, pay bills and keep a roof over their heads, Dale said. Waivers for unemployment claimants who received overpayment letters may come this weekend, Waivers for unemployment overpayments could start to roll out by end of the month, paused "new" wage garnishments and interceptions of State of Michigan tax refunds, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. If you disagree with the UIA and are protesting the overpayment, do not file the waiver until you have a final determination in your case. Collaborated with the Attorney Generals office to combat fraud at the agency. If this happens, you can use the same Financial Hardship waiver process. According to recent reporting, the waiver program was much smaller than promised. You may get notices about your case during the collections pause. Collections of overpayments made before the onset of the pandemic in March 2020 will not be suspended. UIA will continue to look at COVID-19 pandemic claims to identify others that may qualify for waivers. In some situations, the UIA may send you actual bills for an overpayment. Those 350,000 people wont be able to keep collecting Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits in the future, however. 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. What type of federal programs are affected? Claimants who received waivers had messages posted to their Michigan Web Account Manager (MiWAM) accounts, the agency said, and letters started going out on Monday. If the UIA later decides that you still owe the overpayment, they might start trying to collect from you again. He also authors the Morning Report Newsletter and various other newsletters. The Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) is now reviewing the categories added Monday and determining how many other claims might qualify for waivers under The announcement came days after the Detroit Free Press reported some workers with overpayment notices were accused of misreporting their income. 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. Interest accumulates very quickly on unemployment overpayments. The approximately 55,000 claimants who received a waiver represent a total of$431 million in overpayments that they won't have to pay back. Since July 2021, the UIA has waived more than $4.35 billion in overpayment debt related to federal pandemic jobless benefits programs on more than 407,300 claims. TheU.S. Department of Labor issued guidance to states in February on how to address overpayments when the claimant is not at fault. The agency has paid a total of $39 billion in unemployment aid to 3.5 million Michigan residents since March 2020. Claimants can also call UIAs Customer Service at 1-866-500-0017. For more information on the Financial Hardship Waiver and how to find it on your MiWAM account, visit page 89 of the MiWAM Toolkit for Claimants. Unemployment waivers bring relief to thousands. Four PUA COVID-19 eligibility reasons that were included at the beginning of the pandemic were later found by the U.S. Department of Labor to be non-qualifying. This is wonderful news for those who lost their job through no fault of their own, UIA Director Julia Dale said. "We wont stop fighting until weve corrected past mistakes made by this agency so that not one innocent Michigander will face consequences as a result of asking for help they needed,"Julia Dale, thedirector of Michigan's UIA, said in the release. The number of claimants receiving waivers this weekend is lower than the conditional number UIA Director Dale provided in recent testimony. Some examples of good cause include: You can protest online through your Michigan Web Account Manager (MiWAM). To get benefits under the PUA program, the Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) must have determined that your unemployment was directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Issuing waivers is a cornerstone of Director Dales reform of the UIA. It specifically said states could apply blanket waivers for overpayments for claimants who were approvedfor a higher weekly benefit amount than what they should have received. If you have a question about your PUA overpayments, you may be able to get help from the Counsel and Advocacy Law Line. Convenient times and dates are available. If you got an overpayment notice and disagree with it, you can protest and ask the UIA to look at your claim again. 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. But the agency continued to fight back against claimants who argued they didn't misreport their income. Some Michigan residents who benefited from billions in overpaid pandemic unemployment assistance may not owe that money back after all. After the notifications were issued, Gov. Readers can follow our Facebook page for developments on the UIA waiver program and the UIA class-action lawsuit. The UIA must get your appeal within 30 days from the date it is issued. There is no application process. When you file your appeal, ask for a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ). 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. The UIA is responsible for collecting overpayments of unemployment benefits. An earlier suspension expired in May. So far, there has not been any specific plan announced on whether or how the federal standard will be adopted and, if so, how the blanket waivers will be applied. This is a pause on collections only. The UIA waived the repayment of more than $53.2 million in benefits that were received by claimants, providing much needed relief for Michiganders. New waiver qualifications for Michiganders who received unemployment overpayments More people could qualify for Michigan's unemployment insurance agency All rights reserved. The suspension will put money back in the pockets of people who needed pandemic unemployment benefits and followed the rules when they asked for help. Thanks to these waivers that we fought for and secured Michiganders will get to keep their hard-earned money.. 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More rounds of waivers expected, offering relief to workers. The waivers provide fresh hope for Michiganders who faced paying back the federal government for benefits they received based on frequently shifting federal and state program rules. There are other actions that can be taken if fraud is suspected. Each letter will have a due date printed on your determination for when the protest is due. Dale said the agency is still working hard to identify workers who qualify for the next round of waivers. Blanchard & Walker PLLC 221 North Main St., Suite 300 Ann Arbor, MI 48104, UIA CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AND WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW, Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Discrimination, PROFESSIONAL LICENSING AND DISCIPLINARY REVIEW, BW Wins Approval for $1.95M Delivery Driver Settlement. 2023 Blanchard & Walker PLLC that money back after all in overpaid unemployment... Future, however waivers will be applied and how many or which people will. 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