$300 weekly state unemployment payments begin dispersing

LANSING — The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) has started issuing $300 weekly Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (PUC) payments to an estimated 365,000 claimants on regular state unemployment insurance (UI) and Extended Benefit programs this weekend.

The PUC supplement, which is payable from Dec. 27, 2020 through March 13, 2021, provides an additional $300 per week to all eligible unemployment recipients who receive at least $1 for the week. Claimants do not need to take any action to receive this additional weekly benefit, it will be paid automatically after they certify. The additional payment comes from an extension of the federal COVID-19 relief package passed in December.

Workers who were on Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) continue to have no actions to take at this time They will not be able to complete certifications and payments will not be issued for weeks after Dec. 26 until the technical updates to the UI system are completed per the recently received U.S. Dept. of Labor (USDOL). UIA staff have been working nights and weekends to complete the updates as soon as possible. This will only be a disruption and claimants will be made whole once the extensions are fully implemented. An estimated completion date is not available at this time.

“The UIA team worked tirelessly to ensure that Michigan was one of the first states to implement the PUC program,” said Liza Estlund Olson, acting director of UIA. “And now that we’ve received additional USDOL guidance we remain committed to implementing the remaining federal PUA and PEUC programs as quickly possible to get money out the door. These workers should rest assured that they will not miss out on any benefits and will receive every dollar they are entitled to once the programs are fully implemented.”

PEUC provides 11 additional weeks of benefits for those who have exhausted regular state unemployment benefits. PUA provides unemployment benefits to those not typically eligible for unemployment including self-employed and gig workers.

Claimants do not need to contact the UIA regarding these changes at this time. Continue to monitor the UIA website at Michigan.gov/uia for more information as it becomes available.