Michigan unemployment overpayments: Lawmakers push to waive collections of pandemic funds
LANSING, Mich. (FOX 2) - A new bill moving through the Michigan Legislature would stop the state from taking back unemployment money inadvertently paid to beneficiaries during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Introduced by Sen. Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton), the bill would waive overpayments that are supposed to be paid back, and prevent the Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) from collecting overpayments more than three years after they were issued.
Some who received Covid unemployment benefits now told they need to pay it back
Some people who received COVID-19 unemployment benefits are still being told they need to pay that money back.
The backstory:
In September, UIA started recouping benefits that were overpaid to around 350,000 people between February 2020 and September 2021.
This comes after people who received overpayments were notified in 2022 that they would need to pay the extra money back. However, a class action lawsuit against the unemployment agency halted this. That lawsuit, Saunders v. UIA, was recently settled, allowing for collections to begin.
The UIA said hardship waivers are available for those who are unable to make payments.
What the bill says:
Senate Bill 700 would prevent the Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) from recovering improperly paid benefits three or more years after the benefits were paid, and waive the money that beneficiaries were ordered to repay.
The UIA would only be able to collect money back from beneficiaries if it is found that a person lied to receive the funds.
What they're saying:
Camilleri said in a newsletter that it would be unfair to recollect the money from people who received it at no fault of their own.
"Years removed from the chaos of the pandemic, it is unfair for hardworking Michiganders to foot the bill for actions that were no fault of their own," he said, while reiterating that this does not apply to people who committed fraud. "Importantly, those who have been determined to have intentionally committed fraud will not be eligible for an overpayment waiver. If you took advantage of the system during a time of crisis, you will rightly be required to repay those sums."
What's next:
The Committee on Labor recently unanimously advanced the bill, which now goes back to the Senate for a vote.
The Source: FOX 2 referred to previous reporting, reviewed the bill, and used a newsletter from Sen. Darrin Camilleri to report this story.