Michigan Demands Unemployment Money Back From Woman Who Says She Never Got it
High call volumes, locked accounts, and missing answers leave residents scrambling as repayment notices roll in.
SEBASTIAN, Fla. — A Florida woman, originally from Michigan, says she was recently hit with a repayment demand from the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency for pandemic-era unemployment benefits she never received. The letter, she claims, offered no amount due and lacked explanation.
“I did not get a dollar from Michigan pandemic money,” she said in the interview. “When the government shut down our state, I went right back to work when the restaurant reopened for takeout orders. I chose not to take unemployment”interview.
She described efforts to resolve the matter as frustrating and opaque: logging into her unemployment account failed, phone calls disconnected under heavy volume, and she plans to visit a UIA office in person. “That’s all I can do until the call volume is not so high,” she saidinterview.
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She said this lack of communication has left her in limbo. “They can find me in Florida, but they can’t get it right that I don’t owe any money,” she said. “Even if I wanted to pay them back, I wouldn’t know how much. There wasn’t even a number on my letter”interview.
The woman said she fears the dispute could affect her credit if not resolved. She also believes she is not alone. “I know other people personally who had issues when the pandemic was going on with unemployment,” she said. “We all call, and the system just hangs up on us. Nobody can get through to a human being”interview.
Michigan UIA: Resuming Collections After Legal Pause
Michigan’s UIA recently announced it will resume collecting overpaid unemployment benefits dating back to March 2020. Roughly 350,000 former claimants are affected, and the total amount targeted for collection is about $2.7 billion.
This resumption follows the settlement of Saunders v. UIA, a class-action lawsuit that had paused collections while claimants’ protest and appeal rights were adjudicated.
UIA Director Jason Palmer acknowledged the financial strain but called the move a legal requirement. “We understand the impact these collections will have on household budgets. That is why we are providing notice and information about applying for a financial hardship waiver,” Palmer said. “At the same time, we are legally obligated under the Michigan Employment Security Act to seek repayment and ensure taxpayer money is returned to the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund”
UIA said claimants will receive a Form 1088 notice through their online Michigan Web Account Manager (MiWAM) portal, explaining how much they owe and how to request a waiver. Payments are due beginning September 29, 2025, but those facing hardship may apply for relief. Debts tied to fraud are not eligible for waivers.
Growing Frustration from Claimants
Despite these assurances, claimants like the Florida woman say the process is nearly impossible to navigate because they cannot reach anyone for help.
Each time she dialed the UIA number, she said, the system walked her through prompts only to disconnect with a message that call volume was too high. “It literally tells you they can’t take your call, thanks you, and then hangs up,” she saidinterview.
Others have echoed her experience online and in interviews, saying the system has left them without recourse as collection deadlines approach. Critics argue that without reliable access to customer service, Michigan risks penalizing people for errors they cannot correct.
For the Florida woman, the experience feels like punishment for doing the right thing. “I had more satisfaction going back to work. And now, after all this time, they’re coming after me,” she said
Leave it to Whitmer. She can’t get anything right.