Article courtesy MIRS News for SBAM’s Lansing Watchdog newsletter
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The House Labor caucus has introduced a nine-bill package that raises unemployment benefit payment amounts, makes correspondence from the Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) easier to understand, lowers the wage garnishment rate and more.
Rep. Joey Andrews (D-St. Joseph) said in a press conference Thursday that a bill package to protect unemployment was pertinent given the state of the national economy.
Rep. Donavan McKinney (D-Detroit) said the unemployment insurance system has not kept pace with the needs of the people it was designed to serve, so his HB 5000 raises the state’s weekly benefit amount rate for unemployment payments from 4.1 percent to 5.1 percent of the worker’s highest earnings that quarter.
Elly Jordan of the Michigan Poverty Law Program said Rep. Denise Mentzer (D-Mount Clemens)’s HB 5002 ensures that those navigating the system can do so with clarity and confidence, since the bill aims to make correspondence from the UIA more understandable by requiring it to be written at a fourth-grade reading level.
“This was a big issue we saw during COVID when we got a large increase in contacts from constituents who had no idea, and even us reading some of the documents didn’t know what it meant,” Rep. Regina Weiss (D-Oak Park) said.
Jordan said that when a person is navigating unemployment, facing uncertainty and needing support, it’s already difficult for someone to accept the support, so when communications with the UIA are unintelligible, it adds insult to injury.
Responding to the argument that there is a lot of waste, fraud and abuse in social services, Rep. Mai Xiong (D-Warren) said that the rhetoric from the right has shown they are out of touch with workers and low-income families.
“For them to accuse Michiganders of being waste, fraud and abuse, I would argue that there is a portrait in this building that I consider waste, fraud and abuse,” Xiong said, referring to a portrait of Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) hanging near the elevators in the House Office Building.
Other bills in the package include:
– Rep. Stephanie A. Young (D-Detroit)’s HB 5001 would allow recipients of unemployment benefits to take a job that pays up to half of the amount they’re receiving through benefits without risking their eligibility for assistance. If they make more than half, their benefits would be reduced by 50 cents per dollar they earn.
– Rep. Brenda Carter (D-Pontiac)’s HB 5003 increases the threshold to 200% of the federal poverty level for hardship waiver eligibility that prevents a pandemic unemployment benefits recipient from having to repay overpayment benefits.
– Rep. Kelly Breen (D-Novi)’s HB 5004 restores prior law for involuntary leave for medical reasons, under which the employer has the burden of proving a leave was voluntary.
– Rep. Regina Weiss (D-Oak Park)’ HB 5005 excludes medical emergencies from being deemed “no call, no show,” a designation that disqualifies the employee from unemployment benefits.
– Rep. Reggie Miller (D-Belleville)’s HB 5006 requires that recipients being investigated for unemployment fraud receive either an in-person or telephone appeals hearing with the ability to have legal counsel.
– Rep. Joey Andrews (D-St. Joseph)’ HB 5007 implements the “ABC” test instead of the IRS 20 factor test to determine if a worker is an I-9 independent contractor employee or a W-2, which determines if they are eligible for unemployment benefits. Andrews said a lot of employers use the independent contractor status to get out of having to pay benefits, and keeps the employee from being able to collect benefits.
– Rep. Mai Xiong (D-Warren) said at a time when the UIA is asking for money back due to overpayments from the COVID-19 pandemic, her HB 5008 lowers the amount of wages that can be garnished from 50% to 20% to provide relief in another area.
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