By Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


An update on the state’s unemployment system was delivered during a tele-town hall event Tuesday.

Republican State Senator Lana Theis of Brighton Township hosted the event with Unemployment Insurance Agency Legislative Liaison Stephanie Glidden to answer questions from constituents about filing for unemployment benefits in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. The majority of the hour-and-a-half long event was spent taking Q & A calls from people still trying to file for benefits and others encountering technical system problems. Glidden stated that tech issues and log-in problems have unfortunately been a large plague on the system, noting there is very high security because there is such sensitive information. She said issues frequently happen when there is already an account in the system as the system doesn’t recognize old accounts.

Glidden says anyone with log in problems can email a specific inbox UIA-MIWAMissues@Michigan.gov. Glidden says that’s a dedicated IT inbox being staffed by Department of Technology state workers, who are calling through to unlock people’s accounts and fix other issues. Glidden acknowledged there is a bit of backlog but noted they now have 150 staff as of Monday dedicated to addressing log in issues, whereas they had 30 previously. Glidden noted that so far more than 750,000 Michiganders have seen about $825 (m) million in payments, adding a pretty high percentage of those who applied have already begun receiving payments.

Calls centered on different problems people are encountering when applying for benefits, as many people are frustrated due to issues tied to the phone and computer systems. Some were locked out of accounts and can’t access accounts perhaps due to past benefits, while others had separation issues. It was noted that there is a high percentage of self-employed individuals who were initially denied, but later approved. Glidden noted each case is different and complex issues are involved. She says the state has expanded system servers and added hundreds of staff, although there are still many technical issues people are facing such as forgotten passwords and locked accounts. Glidden stressed everyone is working hard to process claims and get them through. There were a number of questions about individual claims as well as PUA applications – which must be filed to receive the $600 federal payment. That’s in addition to weekly state benefit amounts and was added by federal government though July. It was noted that if someone has received a confirmation number on a PUA application they should be good. Once a person receives an approval and monetary decision, they’ll receive information telling them when to certify either online or by phone.

Other questions during the tele-town hall centered on incorrect social security numbers or birthday on file, more issues with people making second accounts or employers accidentally entering wrong information. It was noted there should be some sort of an explanation for a claim denial. However, even if someone was denied for state unemployment benefits, it was stated that people should still fill out a Pandemic Unemployment Assistance or PUA application for the $600 federal benefit being offered. Glidden noted the easiest way to file is still online at www.Michigan.gov/UIA.