Nearly 69% of Michiganders on unemployment haven’t gotten paid benefits in the past two weeks as the state waits on guidance for how to reimplement the federal benefits programs.
The extra $300 per week for all unemployed Michigan residents also hangs in limbo. Both were components of the $908 billion federal COVID-19 aid package passed in late December.
President Donald Trump agreed to sign the deal Dec. 27, just hours after the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and Pandemic Emergency Employment Compensation programs lapsed.
“Due to the timing of the legislation’s finalization, there will be a delay in certification and payment of benefits for those currently enrolled in the federal PUA and PEUC programs beginning Dec. 26,” said Jason Moon, spokesman for Michigan’s Unemployment Insurance Agency, on Tuesday, Jan. 5.
The UIA is waiting for guidance from the federal government on how to reimplement the programs and how to disburse the extra $300 weekly payments. Once Michigan has those details, Moon said the UIA “will work tirelessly to implement any remaining changes as soon as it can in order to get benefits out the door as quickly as possible.”
There’s still no estimate on when the PUA and PEUC payments will restart or when the extra $300 will start going out.
As of Dec. 12, Michigan had about 855,000 people on unemployment. More than 587,000 of them were on PUA or PEUC federal programs since they weren’t/no longer eligible for state unemployment.
While many residents didn’t get unemployment benefits last week and perhaps not this week, they’ll eventually get pay for all weeks retroactively, if they’re eligible, Moon said.
The U.S. government extended its extra unemployment benefits into the spring, but Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s veto pen will reduce some of the state benefits available.
The Michigan Legislature agreed to keep providing 26 weeks of unemployment instead of the normal 20, on the condition that the state paid $220 million of general fund money into the employer-financed Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. Whitmer struck down the move, calling it a “$220 million giveaway of taxpayer money.”
Anybody on state unemployment before 2021 will still get the promised 26 weeks of benefits. But anybody who started on unemployment in January 2021 or later will only get 20 weeks of state benefits – unless Michigan leaders find a solution before mid-May.
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