The idea being reviewed is to take that federal funding intended for unemployment assistance and turn it around and offer that additional $300 weekly to people who have been unemployed but agree to return to work.
Some unemployed Michiganders have already started receiving their $300. Others have not. As a matter of fact, some Michiganders are not receiving any benefits at all.
Since the virus outbreak began in March, the state reports about $22 billion in unemployment benefits have been paid to more than 2.1 million workers. Sounds awesome. But there is another side to the story.
Last week, lawmakers were told that 134,000 people who filed for unemployment benefits have not received anything. The new update, which isn’t much better, is the number is now 125,000.
Representative Matt Hall says it’s an opportunity to see how two critical state departments are either helping each other serve the state’s residents, or not.