MICHIGAN — Did you pay the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency back after being notified the pandemic-era benefits they’d paid you were in error?
You could be entitled to get that money back.
A website is now live, helping people file a claim for reimbursement of funds repaid to the UIA before protest and appeals were resolved.
It’s part of the agreement from a settlement reached in the Saunders v Unemployment Ins. Agency et al lawsuit, in which millions of dollars were ordered are to be returned to those who were incorrectly made to repay benefits received during the pandemic.
Eligible claimants under the Settlement Agreement will be eligible to receive one and/or two of the following Settlement benefits:
Reimbursement of Amounts Collected by Agency: All Settlement Class Members who certify eligibility may recover pro rata from the Net Common Fund based on their Common Fund award points. One Common Fund award point shall be awarded for each dollar collected by the Agency and not yet refunded.
Enhanced Award: All Settlement Class Members may be allowed to certify to one or more enhanced award factors that justify greater share of the Net Common Fund. Settlement Class Members electing to certify for an enhanced award will be required to submit at least one form of agreed-upon documentation in order to qualify for an enhanced settlement award.
—Saunders v UIA Improper Collections Class Action
Under the agreement, the UIA claims no responsibility for what happened and says the system in place at the time was not equipped to handle the volume of claims, protests, and appeals, leading to thousands of people being ordered to repay benefits.
They are currently working to bring a new system online to prevent this from happening again, making the process ‘fast, fair, and fraud-free’ according to the agency.
It will be operational in 2025.
You can also opt-out if you would not like to be a part of this settlement. According to the settlement’s website, this is the only way to keep your right to bring any other lawsuit against the Michigan UIA for the same claims if you are a Settlement Class Member.
Advice from the UIA for smooth filing:
- Go to the Claimant Homepage
- Call the Settlement Administrator at 1-866-499-4565 or email info@bwclassactions.com
- Watch for an email from UIA titled “Saunders v. UIA improper collections settlement alert”
- Log-in to Michigan Web Account Manager (MiWAM) regularly to see if you've received a web message with the title “Saunders v. UIA Improper Collections Alert”
- Resolve problems with MiLOGIN or MiWAM passwords by calling UIA Customer Service at 1-866-500-0017 and select 7 for Account Access when prompted.
Submitting a claim is the only way to receive payment.
The deadline to file a claim is November 4, 2024. A final approval hearing is scheduled for March 20, 2025.
More details can be found on the lawsuit’s website.
