Governor Whitmer has signed an executive order, which will expedite unemployment benefits to Michiganders, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new order allows the state to base benefits on the applicant’s most recent job separation, which is the reason the applicant is now unemployed.
Governor Whitmer said the new order will take Michigan one step closer to temporarily eliminating red tape, as we continue to battle the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new order also extends a previous one, which had extended unemployment benefits to workers, expanded the state’s workshare program, which offered more tools to employers to reduce layoffs and restart their business, and suspended the requirement for residents seeking unemployment to register and continue looking for work.
Despite the problems with Michigan’s Unemployment Insurance Agency website throughout the pandemic, Michigan is doing well in terms of applicants waiting for a decision on their claim.
Michigan is second in the nation, in applicants waiting for a decision, behind New York.