Whitmer’s Unemployment Agency Hid Qualification Error for Months

August 19, 2021

Lansing, Mich., August 19, 2021 – Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s unemployment agency withheld information for months regarding an error they made over requirements needed to qualify for unemployment benefits. The Detroit News reports:

“Leaders within the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency were told as early as Jan. 6 that the federal government rejected four state-developed unemployment qualifications for aid, according to a letter obtained by The Detroit News…

But the Unemployment Insurance Agency didn’t notify the nearly 600,000 people  affected by the mistake for nearly six months.”

This mistake put the status of unemployment benefits for nearly 600,000 Michiganders at risk, and for a time threatened these individuals with the prospect of having to repay the benefits they received from the state. The Michigan House Oversight Committee held an initial investigative hearing on the Unemployment Insurance Agency this Tuesday, with additional hearings to be scheduled.

“For nearly six months, Governor Whitmer withheld crucial information from the public over her unemployment agency’s costly mistake. This is a blatant attempt to cover-up the incompetence taking place within her administration,” said Eric Ventimiglia, executive director for Michigan Rising Action. Ventimiglia continued, “Whitmer’s reckless and arbitrary shutdowns created an unprecedented strain on the unemployment system, and human errors at the highest levels of her administration exacerbated the problems. Whitmer is responsible for this fiasco, and she should be held accountable.”