DETROIT – When you think of disasters at Michigan’s Unemployment Insurance Agency it can be split into two.
The most recent are billions of dollars in fraudulent payments paid out during the pandemic to thieves gaming the system.
Prior to that the UIA found itself in hot water in 2015 for doing the opposite, wrongly accusing an estimated 40,000 Michiganders of fraud because of the computer system the agency was using.
People wrongly accused had checks garnished, income tax refunds taken and other assets.
A class action lawsuit was filed, and Monday (Jan. 23), Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office announced a $20 million settlement in the case.
Specific parameters apply to qualify for those settlement monies.
For starters the false accusation must have come between October 2013 and August 2015.
Starting Feb. 1, 2023, known claimants will receive a settlement notice in the mail. Pay attention to that notice it will detail the deadlines for you to file necessary paperwork.
