House Oversight Chairman Steve Johnson announced that he plans to launch an in-depth investigation into the Unemployment Insurance Agency. In light of multiple reports of significant issues at the Unemployment Agency, Chairman Johnson is demanding accountability which starts with legislative hearings and an investigation.

“The Unemployment Agency has been a complete mess. From all the fraudulent activity occurring within the Agency to their latest letter to nearly 700,000 Michiganders potentially demanding they pay funds back, the UIA is a disaster and there needs to be leadership changes now”, said Johnson. “How about before asking people to pay funds back due to the state’s mistake, they ask former director Steve Gray to pay back his $86,000 hush fund payment.”

The House Oversight Committee will be conducting hearings on the pattern of mismanagement, incompetence, and outright fraud within the Unemployment Agency. Officials from the UIA have previously appeared before the Oversight Committee, most notably in March of 2021 when the acting director was unable to provide a clear picture of how the agency was handling the rise in claims, and admitted that it had been over a month since her last meeting with the Governor.