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With a court injunction lifted, the UIA will resume collections from 350,000 Workers.
he Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) has announced it will seek $2.7 billion in repayments from about 350,000 residents who it says were overpaid unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Michigan Chronicle.
The UIA explained that while many of these overpayments date back to claims filed in 2020 and 2021, the agency was unable to collect due to a court order linked to a class-action lawsuit. That lawsuit, filed by claimants who had been told they owed money back and in some cases had wages garnished or tax refunds seized, resulted in a $55 million settlement in May.
As part of the settlement approval, the court dissolved a preliminary injunction that had blocked collections. The UIA said collection efforts will resume on Sept. 12, with the first payments due by Sept. 29. Claimants unable to repay immediately can apply for a financial hardship waiver.
"It's an incredibly difficult position for these people to be in and it's a difficult position for the UIA because we have a duty to collect this money by law," UIA Director Jason Palmer told the Detroit Free Press. "We could not collect for essentially five years worth of payments. So we are trying to balance that with empathy and giving people notice and giving them a chance to apply for these waivers and trying to communicate as best as we can." --->READ MORE HERE
Michigan workers who received unemployment insurance benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic may owe that money back.
Michigan's Unemployment Insurance Agency said on Sept. 8 that it was going to resume collections in the cases of about 350,000 claimants who filed for jobless benefits as far back as March 2020 who the agency had determined had been overpaid, to the tune of about $2.7 billion.
If you owe, this should not be the first time you're hearing about it. Claimants who received jobless benefits in the pandemic who may have to pay benefits back, said Jason Palmer, the director of Michigan's UIA, would have been notified years ago that they were overpaid benefits.
So what do you do if you are in this situation?
Below is a list of questions and answers that might help you understand what your case status is and what to do next.
Why is the UIA asking to be paid back now?
The UIA said it paused collection in these cases because of a court order from a class-action lawsuit against the agency. The UIA was ordered, via a preliminary injunction, to not request or accept payments on the debt while the lawsuit played out.
Impacted claimants would not have received any collection attempts, such as a monthly bill or having their wages garnished, Palmer said.
That class-action, which was filed by similar claimants who received unemployment insurance benefits during the pandemic and then were told they had to pay the money back to the state, and who in certain cases, had already had their wages garnished or tax returns seized, was settled for $55 million in May.
As part of the order from the state judge approving the settlement, the preliminary injunction that prevented the UIA from engaging in collection efforts was dissolved. The pause in collections was allowed to be lifted on Sept. 12, the UIA said.
Where can I find out how much I owe? --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to relevant/related stories and resources:
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USA TODAY: Coronavirus Updates
WSJ: Coronavirus Live Updates
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