The Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Opportunity announced last Thursday that $34 million would be paid out to around 49,000 unemployment insurance claimants, as the agency adjusts to comply with a new law in Michigan. This payment will result in a tax increase for most of Michigan’s small businesses. Reimbursing employers will see a larger increase, as their one-to-one reimbursements to the UIA will go up.
When SB 40 was signed into law near the end of last year, the legislation set into motion a series of upward adjustments to the maximum unemployment insurance benefit, starting with a jump from $362 to $446 on January 1st of 2025. For statutory, technical reasons, the bill did not take effect until April 1st, meaning that the Department had to ‘backpay’ claims from January 1 to April 1 for that higher amount.
This surge in employer rates is the first of several SBAM anticipates in the coming years. Alongside various employer advocates, SBAM urged the legislature to reject unsustainable benefit boosts before fraud was rooted from the system, and the 100% employer-funded Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund was restored to pre-pandemic levels. Unfortunately, these bills were signed into law last year and are now being implemented even with our sensible and high-pressure efforts.
Future schedule of changes include:
- January 1, 2026: Maximum weekly benefit will increase to $540
- January 1, 2026: Maximum monthly benefit will increase to $614
- January 1, 2028: State Treasurer will annually increase weekly benefit and dependent amounts based on the national Consumer Price Index increase
- Beginning July 2026, claimants will be required to record three work search activities per week, up from the current requirement of one per week.
- SBAM has been vocal in supporting HB 4516, which would add accountability measures to UI eligibility by strengthening work search requirements for claimants. Read more here.
Read the whole press release from the Department here.
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