Why Are Michigan Unemployment Applications Unprocessed?

Frustration with Michigan’s Unemployment Insurance Agency continues to boil over. Marshall Republican State Representative Matt Hall says he is more than frustrated with the Agency’s handling of well over 100 thousand benefits applications that aren’t being processed and the state residents involved are not being contacted. Agency Director  Steve Gray at least showed up for testimony before Hall’s select legislative committee yesterday. Hall would like nothing more than to be impressed with what the committee learned. Not the case, however. Hall is releasing a statement following the committee meeting and he says in part, “UIA is not communicating in an acceptable fashion with laid-off Michigan workers or the Legislature, which is actively trying to connect the agency with people who have not received needed benefits. They’re not communicating effectively with the public about the reasoning behind their decisions. It’s why they’ve spent $20,000 on an emergency public relations team to help them.”

Earlier in the week, the unemployment agency announced a goal of having the entire backlog of unprocessed cases handled by July 4th. Many people are asking on social media whether the agency is capable of doing that since it has left thousands of benefit applications languishing since the Governor s virus closing orders were set up back in March.