SE Grand Rapids News

State Rep. Julie Calley (R-Portland) earlier this month called on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to reopen the state’s unemployment offices for in-person appointments.

Calley believes that by reopening the offices, Michiganders who've lost their jobs because of the COVID-19 pandemic can get the assistance they need, and she criticized the Unemployment Insurance Agency for failing to work with those still missing their unemployment benefits.

“People are exasperated because they are unable to speak directly with an employee at the unemployment agency,” Calley said on the Michigan House Republicans website. “Clearly, the procedures they have in place are not working. It’s time to reopen our local unemployment offices and give people an avenue to speak to a live person so they can finally get their issues resolved.”

The lawmaker, who is a member of the bipartisan Joint Select Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic -- which is made up of colleagues from both the Michigan House and Senate -- received testimony last month from the state’s Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity stating that approximately 124,000 people are still without their payments, according to Michigan House Republicans.

The UIA admitted that 340,000 claims have been delayed because of fraud concerns, but Calley believes the agency will not implement a timeline to disburse payments.

“The UIA has now had three months to adjust to the large influx of claims caused by COVID-19 and get their feet back under them,” Calley said on the Michigan House Republicans website. “They’ve even turned down help from outside vendors. At this point, the number of problems Michiganders continue to experience interacting with the unemployment agency is completely unacceptable. Normally I wouldn’t recommend looking to Secretary of State’s offices as an example of customer service, but even their branches were able to open to the public for appointments on June 1. It’s time for the UIA to follow their lead."