Battle Creek Times

Rep. Matt Hall (R-Marshall) issued a statement on the Michigan House Republicans website responding to discrepancies in data from the state’s Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA).

Hall said that it took him a month to receive updated numbers from the UIA, reporting the number of Michigan residents who have not been given compensation after filing their unemployment claims. Hall said, however, that the numbers the UIA provided were not consistent. 

“This inconsistency speaks to what the Joint Select Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic has looked into and what people who have been frustrated with the state’s unemployment system have told us for weeks: that UIA does not have a firm grasp on the severity of this issue,” Hall said in his statement to Michigan House Republicans.

As Michigan residents have struggled under the pressure of temporarily or permanently losing their jobs, many have taken solace in the hope that they would be able to receive some government benefits after filing their unemployment claims. This, however, has not been the case for so many, as Michigan's government has been incredibly slow in responding to unemployment claims. 

“Even with the new numbers UIA came up with today, the total amount of people who have not received any payment is still up from the last available total our committee received on May 21 from Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity Director Jeff Donofrio,” Hall said, according to Michigan House Republicans. “An increase to this total with a month to address the problem does not paint a better picture.”

Steve Gray, director of the UIA said in his letter to Hall that there were reasons that some individuals were still awaiting their checks. 

“Please note that many of the claimants who have been waiting the longest need to provide additional documents to prove eligibility,” Gray wrote in his letter, which appears of the Michigan House Republicans website. “UIA has attempted to contact these claimants, sometimes without response.”

Hall made it clear that he would continue to fight for his constituents. 

“I look forward to speaking with UIA Director Steve Gray this coming Wednesday on these recent inconsistencies and developing a smarter approach to get people the money they are owed,” Hall said, according to Michigan House Republicans.