UIA Update: All PUA, PEUC Claimants Can Now Reopen or Certify Unemployment Claims

From the State of Michigan

The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency has completed system updates for the recently extended federal unemployment insurance (UI) programs. All remaining Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) claimants whose claims ended when CARES Act programs were interrupted in December can now either reopen, certify or apply for benefits available under the Continued Assistance Act (CAA). Claimants were notified from the UIA with information and instructions regarding the changes.

The CAA allows PEUC and PUA claimants an additional 11 weeks of benefits payable for the week ending Jan. 2 through March 13, 2021. Payments also include the additional $300 Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) weekly benefit.

PUA

New PUA claims can now be filed online at michigan.gov/uia.

PUA claimants who exhausted their original entitlement of benefits prior to Dec. 26, 2020 can also now reopen their claim to receive an additional 11 weeks of benefits, payable retroactively, beginning with the week ending Jan. 2, 2021. Claimants have or will receive notification by email, through their MiWAM account or by mail alerting them to the availability of the additional weeks.

A new provision under the CAA requires PUA claimants to submit proof of employment or self-employment to maintain eligibility. For example, claimants need documentation showing their employment or self-employment for the tax year prior to when they filed their original claim for benefits. Individuals who filed their original PUA claim in 2020 need documentation to support employment in 2019. New PUA applications filed in 2021 should include supportive documentation of employment in 2020.

Appropriate documents can include tax documents, paycheck stubs, state or federal employer identification numbers, business licenses, business receipts or a signed affidavit.

Claimants should not submit this documentation until they receive a notice instructing them where to upload it and the timelines for doing so.

PEUC

PEUC claimants who exhausted their previous entitlement will be able to reopen their claim to receive an additional 11 weeks of benefits, payable retroactively, beginning with the week ending Jan. 2, 2021. Claimants have or will receive notification by email, through their MiWAM account or by mail alerting them to the availability of the additional weeks.

Workers on regular state UI benefits will no longer receive the PEUC extension automatically. The CAA now requires workers to submit an application. Once a worker has exhausted their state UI benefits, they will need to log into their MiWAM account and click on, “Additional Information Required – click here to file an extension.”

“We’re pleased to have restored the federal programs that so many workers in our state are depending on. These are vital programs that have helped Michiganders provide for their families as we continue to navigate COVID-19,” said Liza Estlund Olson, acting director of the UIA. “While this is a huge step forward, we know there’s still more work to do to ensure everyone receives the benefits they are entitled to.”

One final provision the Agency continues to develop is the Mixed Earners Unemployment Compensation (MEUC) program, which allows workers who earned at least $5,000 in self-employment income to apply for an additional $100 per week in supplemental benefits. MEUC is payable from Dec. 27, 2020 through March 13, 2021.

Claimants should continue to monitor their MiWAM account and the UIA website for updates.