Battle Creek Times

Rep. Matt Hall (R-Marshall) wants Michigan's Unemployment Insurance Agency to reopen its offices by appointment for residents who cannot get through over the phone.

Hall has been a part of several hearings recently regarding the state's unemployment agency and its alleged failure by many of the state's residents.

"One thing they said was, well, we don't want people to wait in line for ten hours, and my response to that is that they're already doing that on the phone," Hall said in an audio file provided by Michigan House Republicans.

Rep. Matt Hall | Michigan House Republicans

Hall said that since Michiganders are already waiting so long, it doesn't make sense that they couldn't just wait in person.

"Truthfully, a wait like ten hours is probably a lot shorter than the wait that they have right now on the phone, and then they get hung up on," Hall said, according to the audio file.

Hall says that the unemployment agency needs to improve its communication.

"They need to be more responsive, and if this is a way they can do it by setting up appointments with the public, I think it would relieve a lot of people's anxiety and fears that they're not being heard, that the department is not receiving their information, and it'll give them assurance that these problems will be resolved quickly," Hall told Michigan House Republicans.

Several weeks ago, Hall admonished the agency for its lack of communication, according to Michigan House Republicans.

"UIA is not communicating in an acceptable fashion with laid-off Michigan workers or the Legislature, which is actively trying to connect the agency with people who have not received needed benefits," Hall said in that statement. "They’re not communicating effectively with the public about the reasoning behind their decisions. It’s why they’ve spent $20,000 on an emergency public relations team to help them."

Hall said he believes that most people understand the state was overwhelmed by unemployment claims, but they can't accept the lack of communication.

“I believe most people can accept and understand that things happened in Michigan, which overwhelmed the system, and that the system was not prepared for this kind of surge," Hall told Michigan House Republicans. "What people are struggling to accept and understand is the lack of communication from the agency to get this right. Legislators have heard from many people who just want a callback from the agency or a voice mail to know that they are being heard and work is being done to fulfill their claim. The fact that this straightforward and basic customer service hasn’t been provided has been UIA’s biggest problem."