With Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) offices closed Friday, Nov. 10, in observance of Veterans Day, workers who receive jobless benefits can still certify online through their MiWAM account that they have searched for work. Certification by phone will not be available on the state holiday.

Claimants must report to UIA every two weeks if they are jobless and meet the eligibility requirements to receive benefits. Certification through the Michigan Web Account Manager (MiWAM) is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week – even on holidays – by logging on at Michigan.gov/UIA.

Local UIA offices will be closed Friday in observance of Veterans Day on Saturday and the Customer Service and Office of Employer Ombudsman phone lines also will not be available. Because of the holiday, there may be a slight delay before unemployment benefits are deposited into claimant bank accounts or added to debit cards.

Workers can go to Michigan.gov/UIA at any time to schedule phone, virtual, and Local Office in-person appointments; access resources, toolkits and instructional videos; and find answers to frequently asked questions.

New resources available to workers

Three new resources for workers have recently been launched by the UIA to make applying for and understanding benefits easier:

• The Claimant Roadmap: An easy-to-follow, user-friendly six step guide to applying for understanding benefits.
• First-time filer coaching sessions: Online, web-based guidance from UIA staff who will walk users in a group setting through the steps needed to complete an application and qualify for payments.
• UIA Community Connect program: An equity initiative that partners with local groups throughout the state to provide guidance for workers from underserved groups who have faced barriers when filing for jobless benefits.

More information about these and other resources can be found at Michigan.gov/UIA.

MiWAM system replacement on its way

Planning has started to replace the decade-old MiWAM computer system used by workers to apply for benefits and employers to pay unemployment insurance taxes. UIA Director Julia Dale said a new system will provide a totally new experience that will be easy to use, speed claims processing, and build on the agency’s aggressive anti-fraud tactics. It will give UIA significant programming flexibility for system updates in response to quickly changing economic conditions and is expected to be fully operational in early 2025.

The new system rollout highlights Director Dale’s efforts to transform the UIA into a national model for fast, fair, and fraud-free service, including:

• Creating the UIA Modernization Workgroup, consisting of labor, business and jobless advocates to advise the UIA on significant improvements in how it can better serve Michigan workers and employers.
• Naming a Legal Advisor and creating the Legal and Compliance Bureauto leverage collaborative anti-fraud practices for pursuing bad actors.
• Extended through September 2024 nearly 50 limited term positions in the Fraud and Investigations Division, with 30 more hired this past October.
• Revamping the agency’s public website at Michigan.gov/UIA so it is more user-friendly and responsive for those accessing services using cell phones or tablets.
• Hiring new advocates in the Advocacy Program and increasing pay for preparing workers and employers for appeal hearings of UIA determinations before an independent administrative law judge.

Other significant changes throughout agency

Since being named in October 2021, to lead the UIA – the agency's 11th director in as many years – Director Dale has also:

• Collaborated with the Attorney General’s office as well as local, state and federal law enforcement to bring bad actors to justice and combat fraud at the agency. To date, 158 individuals have been arrested or charged in connection with unemployment benefits fraud, 80 have been convicted, and 51 sentenced for their crimes.
• Reassigned staff and resources to address the largest categories of claims that are contributing to the agency’s case backlogs.
• Rebuilt to more than $2.3 billion (and growing) the UI Trust Fund, from which weekly benefits are paid to workers.
• Approved more than 76,000 overpayment waivers (with more to come) of state and federal benefits paid out during the global pandemic, waiving more than $555 million.
• Halted overpayment collections on claims filed since March 1, 2020, while the agency addresses pending protests and appeals. More than $13 million was refunded to workers since May 2022.
• Implemented new ethics and security clearance policies for employees and contractors.