State Rep. Julie Calley, of Portland, today welcomed state Unemployment Insurance Agency Director Steve Gray to a hearing of the Joint Select Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic, while calling into question the agency’s communication and strategy as Michigan residents remain without needed unemployment benefits.

“If I was to relay the voices of people I’ve been hearing from who are still without needed benefits, I would be breaking committee decorum with the language I’d be using,” Calley said during the hearing. “People are furious, frantic and frustrated. Their attempts to contact the UIA mostly go unanswered; they are not getting sufficient communication from the agency. They are not receiving timelines on when resources may be available to them that will help resolve their claim. This is basic customer service, and the agency is failing.”

Gray was last before the select committee on May 13, when he disclosed that 134,000 people had not received any payments for their claims. Last week, UIA announced that number was sitting at 137,000, taking into account claims that had been fulfilled since the last reported number as well as new claims that entered the system.

Updated information from the agency revealed the total number of unemployment claims statewide since mid-March has surpassed 2.3 million.

The agency has indicated a major issue that has arisen in fulfilling claims – including ones that have been pending for over two months in some cases – has been an abundance of caution regarding fraud. This includes overpayments, which allow a claimant to continue to draw benefits despite no longer being eligible for them, or receive more than what they are owed. Calley expressed concern that the fallout from these occurrences would strain the state’s unemployment trust fund and ultimately be shouldered by job providers through increased taxes.

“We must ensure job providers throughout Michigan who have already been impacted severely by COVID-19 are not on the hook when these overpayments – whether by accident or through intentional fraudulent activity – are not able to be re-collected,” Calley said.

Calley also pressed the agency on options for those with unsettled claims who do not have access to a computer. The agency has launched a portal to connect with constituents who have shared their experiences with legislators, but the second-term lawmaker said that feature isn’t applicable for those without computers or with limited internet access in rural areas.

“The agency is not opening regional branches, won’t commit to a time when those branches will open and has no viable alternative for people who are calling them hundreds of times per day on the phone,” Calley said. “Just this week, the UIA announced a goal of July 4 for all unpaid claims filed before May 1 to receive a determination. Why is it taking over two months to reach an outcome? Timelines this long don’t work for people who are relying on these payments to pay bills and support their families.”

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