August 26, 2021
Speaker of the House Jason Wentworth Calls for the Resignation of Acting UIA Director
Lansing, Mich., August 26, 2021 – Today, Speaker of the House Jason Wentworth called for the resignation of Acting Unemployment Insurance Agency Director Liza Olson. Since taking over the agency in March, Olson’s tenure has been marred by blunders and inefficiencies. Calls for Olson’s resignation come weeks after it was revealed that the UIA acknowledged it had used non-conforming language in implementing the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, and sent threatening letters to approximately 648,000 Michiganders claiming they may have to pay back a portion of their received benefits. In his press release today, Wentworth stated:
“The simple truth is UIA isn’t getting the job done for Michigan families”… “The people of this state need UIA’s help more than ever right now, and instead of rising to the challenge, they are letting us down over and over again. We have all waited long enough and given them more than enough chances, but it just isn’t getting any better. It is time for Gov. Whitmer to make a change and finally give people struggling with unemployment a fighting chance.”
With countless people across the state still struggling to receive benefits and with the UIA’s public embarrassments adding up, Olson’s resignation is the only appropriate response. Looking back at Whitmer’s hush-money scandals from this March, many are hoping she would not use a similar agreement with Olson.
“It has been nearly six months and Steve Gray is still sitting on a pile of taxpayer cash. The former director needs to do the right thing and pay back the Governor’s hush money to the people of Michigan.” said Eric Ventimiglia, Executive Director for Michigan Rising Action. Ventimiglia continued, “Acting Director Liza Olson’s letter telling people they may have to pay back some of their UIA benefits terrified over 600,000 Michigan families. Whitmer appointees are proving more and more disastrous as time goes on, and it is long past time for Liza Olson to step down.”