Filing for first time? UIA Claimant Roadmap, coaching session sign-up also available during the holiday

The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) reminds workers they can certify their job searches online on Presidents Day, which is Monday, Feb. 19. Certification by telephone will not be available since state offices will be closed on the holiday.

Certifying through the Michigan Web Account Manager (MiWAM) is possible 24 hours a day, seven days a week – even on holidays – by logging in at Michigan.gov/UIA. To receive benefits, claimants must report to UIA every two weeks if they are jobless and meet eligibility requirements. 

The UIA’s Local Offices will be closed Presidents Day, and the Customer Service and Office of Employer Ombudsman phone lines will not be staffed. Due to the holiday, there may be a slight delay before unemployment benefits are deposited into a claimant’s bank account or added to their debit card.

There are two innovative resources available to claimants any day of the week and on holidays to help filers understand the process of applying for benefits.

Let the UIA Claimant Roadmap be your six-step guide to applying for and understanding your benefits. The roadmap is an easy-to-follow, user-friendly resource that can be found at Michigan.gov/UIAClaimantRoadmap.

You can schedule an online First-time Filer Coaching Session for web-based guidance from UIA staff who explain in a group setting the steps that are needed to complete an accurate application for benefits. Sign up at Michigan.gov/UIA.

At any time, workers can go to Michigan.gov/UIA and schedule future phone, virtual, and Local Office in-person appointments; find answers to frequently asked questions; or access resources, toolkits, and instructional videos.

New ways UIA helps workers, employers

To improve the user experience, the UIA recently announced more new resources so claimants and employers can more easily access agency services:

• UIA Community Connect program: An equity initiative that partners with local groups throughout the state to provide guidance for workers from underserved groups who have faced barriers when filing for jobless benefits.
• A new online Employer Help Center provides important information in plain language about unemployment taxes and claims issues. The novel resource is a one-stop online toolkit that uses clean design to answer questions and explain UIA programs. The Help Center can be found at Michigan.gov/UIAEmployerHelpCenter.
• Planning and design is underway for a new computer system to replace the decade-old MiWAM technology. The system will be fully functional in 2025 and provide a totally new experience for employers and claimants. It will be easy to use, speed claims processing, and build on the agency’s aggressive anti-fraud tactics.
• The UIA Modernization Workgroup advises the UIA on significant improvements in how the agency can better serve Michigan workers and employers. The unique collaborative includes representatives from the labor, business, and jobless communities.
• New advocates have been hired and pay increased for the Advocacy Program. Advocates prepare workers and employers for appeal hearings of UIA determinations before an independent administrative law judge.
• Available times to schedule appointments have been extended to 14 days in advance to meet with trained, professional staff about their claims. Appointments can be made in person at any of UIA’s Local Offices around Michigan, by phone, or virtually.

Other significant changes throughout agency

Since being named in October 2021 to lead the UIA – the agency's 11th director in as many years – Director Dale has committed to transforming the UIA into a national model for fast, fair, and fraud-free service. Reforms include:

• Securing a more than $2 million U.S. Department of Labor (U.S. DOL) Tiger Teams grant to improve accuracy, timeliness, and awareness is filing for unemployment claims The funding will support modernization, efficiency, and outreach strategies across the agency that will benefit claimants and employers.
• Scoring 100 percent on U.S. DOL employer audits for the third year in a row, meeting quality benchmarks in 2022, 2021, and 2020.
• Naming a Legal Advisor and creating the Legal and Compliance Bureauto leverage collaborative anti-fraud practices for pursuing bad actors.
• Extending through September 2024 nearly 50 limited term positions in the Fraud and Investigations Division, with 30 additional staff hired with funding from a $2.6 million Integrity Grant from the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL).
• Obtaining a more than $2.3 million equitable access and communications grant from the U.S. DOL Tiger Teams initiative to redesign and simplify how UIA engages with employers and develop a help center for accessing agency services.
• Overhauling the agency’s public website at Michigan.gov/UIAso it is more user-friendly and responsive for those accessing services using cell phones or tablets.
• Collaborating with the Attorney General’s office as well as local, state and federal law enforcement to bring bad actors to justice and combat fraud at the agency. To date, 158 individuals have been arrested or charged in connection with unemployment benefits fraud, 80 have been convicted, and 51 sentenced for their crimes.
• Reassigning staff and resources to address the largest categories of claims that are contributing to the agency’s case backlogs.
• Rebuilding to more than $2.3 billion (and growing) the UI Trust Fund, from which weekly benefits are paid to workers.
• Approving more than 76,000 overpayment waivers (with more to come) of state and federal benefits paid out during the global pandemic, waiving more than $555 million.
• Halting overpayment collections on claims filed since March 1, 2020, while the agency addresses pending protests and appeals. More than $13 million was refunded to workers since May 2022.
• Implementing new ethics and security clearance policies for employees and contractors.

Need help with a claim or have questions?

Go to the UIA Claimant Roadmap First-time Filers Coaching Sessions

Go to the Employer Help Center

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