The estate of Michigan provides unemployment compensation to those who meet the requirements. You may receive benefits for a minimum of 14 weeks and up to a maximum of 26 weeks unless the unemployment

Compensation benefit is based on family benefits. If this is your situation payments can not be received for more than 7 weeks. The actual amount that you can receive is not more than $362 and not less than $81. First you must make sure that you are eligible for benefits and the first thing to check is your wage record during the base period. If you are not sure what that is, don´t worry it is not difficult to discover your base period. Just look back to the last 5 calendar quarters before you claim for unemployment benefits. The first four of these is considered to be your base period and the quarter when you earned your highest wages is the one which decides the weekly amount that you will receive. If for some reason you find that you don´t qualify on that basis there is another way you could qualify for benefits. This is by counting the four calendar quarters immediately before you file your claim.

The alternative base period could be used to qualify you for benefits – this is called The Alternative Earnings Qualifier and you can be accepted on that basis if you had earned wages in at least two quarters and the total amount earned was above $13,564.60. It may be your case that you apply again for benefits less than six calendar quarters after your last benefit year finished.

The benefit year is 52 consecutive weeks starting when you file for benefits. If you subsequently worked before the present benefit year began and your employer paid not less than 5 times the amount you were receiving during your previous benefit year, you can be accepted as qualifying for benefits. At this moment you qualify financially for benefits – however it is also required that you are ready and willing to work if a suitable job is offered and you should be actively looking for employment.

The weekly amount you receive in benefit payments can include those who depend on you for example a spouse (husband or wife) or a child. The amount for each dependant is $6 and as many as 5 dependents may be added. As we said before, the earnings you received in your high quarter are your basis for the amount you will get each week as benefits.

To make the calculation you just multiply this high quarter amount by 4.1% (0.041) and round it down to the nearest dollar. Add to the total the amount you are due for dependents and that will be your weekly benefit amount. If you would like to calculate the number of weeks that you can claim benefits you can do so by multiplying you total base period earnings by 40% (0.4) and dividing this total by the Weekly Benefit Amount.

This is the final article in a three-article series on the resources available to unemployed workers in Michigan. These articles offer practical and up-to-date information on the resources available to Michigan citizens with financial difficulties due to unemployment.

In our final article we will discuss health insurance and foreclosure assistance programs. Finding suitable housing and healthcare are two of the biggest problems for unemployed workers who see their main source of income disappear. Tragically, in most cases families receive their health insurance through the main breadwinner’s employment. When the employment ends, so does the preferential rate of insurance. This often makes it impossible for workers to afford health insurance, only worsening the situation for them and their families.

Homeowners who lose their employment also find themselves without the income they relied on to pay for their mortgage. If they fall behind their payments it doesn’t take long for lenders to file for foreclosure. Once unemployed, finding suitable housing for a family can be a challenge with landlords requiring proof of income.

The programs we detail in this article provide practical assistance in these areas for unemployed workers in the State of Michigan.

Health Assistance

MIChild:
Insurance program for uninsured children administered by the Department of
Community Health (MDCH).
1-888-988-6300
www.michigan.gov/mdch

Medicaid Help Line:
Administered by the Department of Human Services (DHS)
1-800-642-3195
www.michigan.gov/dhs

Free Clinics of Michigan (FCOM): Network of volunteer-staffed free clinics that provide health care services to the uninsured or medically underserved.

1-888-877-6769
www.FCOMI.org

Prescription Assistance Service is also available to unemployed workers who cannot benefit from the reduced prices offered to workers with health insurance. There are several programs offering prescription assistance each with their own rules and requirements. Use the contact information below to contact them and ask for more information.

Michigan Prescription Drug Discount Card is administered by the Department of Community Health (MDCH). The MiRx card is a way for Michigan residents who do not have prescription drug coverage to get their medication for less
money at participating pharmacies.
MiRx Enrollment Hotline: 1-866-755-6479
www.michigan.gov/mdch

Rx Assist: Searchable database of prescription assistance programs.
n/a www.rxassist.org

World Medical Relief 313-866-5333 www.worldmedicalrelief.com

Partnership for Prescription Assistance 1-888-477-2669 www.pparxmi.org

Pfizer Inc. 1-866-706-2400 www.pfizerhelpfulanswers.com

Lilly Cares 1-800-545-6962 www.lillycares.com

Foreclosure

Foreclosure assistance is offered by the Foreclosure Prevention Counselors at the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. This program offers households facing foreclosure with free assistance from foreclosure prevention counselors who will help you apply for state and federal foreclosure programs. Visit www.michigan.gov/helpinghand for more information or call 1-866-946-7432.

Being your own boss isn’t always the dream job it portrayed as. Although setting your own hours and the satisfaction of knowing all your work is going towards your business are nice perks, self employment is not without its drawbacks. For instance, you must pay your own social security, Medicare and you do not receive unemployment benefits. However, it is possible you consider yourself self-employed and still be eligible for unemployment insurance in Michigan. How is this possible?

Let’s start by stating what the Michigan Employment Security Act has to say about unemployment insurance and self-employed workers. For starters, the law says that only insured employees of registered employers in Michigan are eligible for UI benefits. This disqualifies self-employed workers although it does include the employees of self-employed workers. However, the Michigan Employment Security Act defines self-employment by the type of relationship between employer and employee not by the agreement or understanding between two parties. What does this mean? Well, even if you consider yourself self-employed and your have a written agreement to work as a contractor for another individual or company, you are an employee if you meet the definition of an employee as set by the Michigan Employment Security Act.

For example, if you work as a plumbing contractor and invoice a client as a self-employed contractor but use the main contractor’s materials and tools, follow the work schedule set by the main company and barely work for any other clients, you may be considered an employee and therefore deserve to receive unemployment benefits if you lose your job or contract.

So what are the guidelines that determine your status as an employee or self-employed worker? There are several factors the Michigan UIA takes into account when assessing the status of a self employed worker. For example, the UIA may ask the following questions to determine if an employee is being treated as a self-employed worker.

- Is the work carried out by the self-employed worker an integral part of the work generally performed by the main contractor?

- Does the “self-employed” worker depend entirely on the payment (or wages) of a single client?

- What level of control does the self-employed worker have while working? Can he, or she, hire or fire his own workers?

- Does the self-employed worker advertise his or her services elsewhere to the public?

- Does the employee (or self-employed worker) pay for his own materials and tools or does he rely on the materials provided by an employer?

The answer to these questions and the evidence presented by the employer and the employee will determine what status a worker is granted.

he Michigan Unemployment Insurance program encourages workers to accept any type of work they can, even if it is only part-time or temporary. However, many workers shy from accepting odd-jobs and part-time work when unemployed because they fear their unemployment insurance claim could be cancelled.

As long as you follow the rules set by Michigan’s UI regulations you can safely work and claim benefits. However, it is important to understand what these rules are and to claim your UI benefits correctly or your claim could be denied as well as face other disciplinary measures.

These rules can be summarized within one formula, which sets how much money you can earn before your benefits are cancelled. This formula makes sure it is financially worthwhile to work small job while searching for a full-time job. However, you will have to deduct a percentage of your earnings from your weekly benefits.

The Formula

The Michigan UI program allows workers receive UI benefits while they work, although their benefits will be deducted 50 cents for every dollar they make. However, once your total income (including UI benefits and your income) reaches 150 percent of your weekly benefit amount, your Ui benefits will be deducted dollar for dollar.

Example

Let’s illustrate how this would work in the real world. Imagine you receive $300 in UI benefits and earn $160 a week for temporary work. Up until $450 you would only have to deduct 50 cents on the dollar for your income. Once your income exceeds $450 your UI benefits will be deducted dollar for dollar. This means you can never earn more than 150 percent of your UI weekly benefit amount. Following our example above, you would receive a maximum UI benefit amount of $215.

This process can be summarized in the following instructions provided by the Michigan UIA set in 8 easy to follow steps.

WORKSHEET FOR CALCULATING WEEKLY BENEFITS
WHEN UNEMPLOYED WORKER HAS EARNINGS IN THE WEEK

A
Enter the unemployed worker’s weekly unemployment benefit amount.
$300

B
Enter the amount of the unemployed worker’s gross earnings (before taxes) in the calendar week (Sunday through Saturday week). Round down to the nearest whole dollar.
$100

C
Divide "B" by "2".
$100 ÷ 2 = $50

D
Subtract "C" from "A". Round down to the nearest whole dollar. If the result is zero or less than zero, enter "0" as your answer.
$300 – $50 = $250

E
Add together "B" and "D."
$100 + $250 = $350

F
Multiply "A" by 1.5 (that is, 1½)
$300 x 1.5 = $450

G
Subtract "F" from "E". Round down your answer to the nearest whole dollar. If the result is zero or less than zero, enter "0" as your answer.
$350 – $450 = -$100
Enter "0"

H
Subtract "G" from "D". Round down your answer to the nearest whole dollar. The answer you get will be the amount of the unemployed worker’s unemployment benefit payment for the week.
$250 – 0 = $250

Waiting for the Michigan UIA to assess your unemployment insurance claim can be stressful. Not understanding what the UIA’s determination means once you receive it, is plain frustrating. This series of articles looks into this important form and provides information on what each section means for you. This is the second article on this form and focuses on the meaning of separating employer, base period, alternate base period and the reasons your application could be denied.

Last Employer or Separating Employer: This is the last employer you worked with before claiming for unemployment. This is an important section because many of the reasons your claim can be denied are based on who your separating employer is and the reasons he or she “let you go”.

Separating Reasons: This is the reason you (or your employer) provided for your separation. As you can imagine getting this right is crucial. If the reason for separation is you quitting the job voluntarily or gross negligence, you may not qualify for unemployment. In fact, any reason besides “lack of work” could cause you trouble.

Also, if your separating employer happens to be a family member, or if you are one of the owners of the company, you may only qualify for a reduced period of benefits (generally 7 weeks).

Last Employment Total Wages: This section gives you the total income you received from your last employer. This can determine your eligibility for UI. For example, in some cases you may be required to earn 5 times your weekly benefit amount with your last employer before you can continue receiving benefits.

Base Period Income: This is the amount of money you earned during the first four quarters of the last five. This amount is used to assess your eligibility and determine how many benefit weeks you qualify for. The four quarters in a year are: January to March, April to June, July to September and October to December. If you filed your claim in November your base period would start in June of the same year to July of the previous year.

Alternate Base Period: The Michigan UIA laws allow you to use an alternate base period including the last four quarters, if you do not qualify for UI with the income of a regular base period.

Date Protest Due: You are entitled to appeal against the UIA’s decision. However, for the appeal to be considered you must file it within 30 days of receiving the form. If you are close to the deadline date, fax it.

The difference between being “self employed” and an employee is not always clear. As we described in our previous article, many workers are employees without even realizing it. The difference is far from academic. If you qualify as an employee under Michigan law, regardless of whether you or your boss/employer think you are employee, you qualify for the benefits granted to an employee.

What are those benefits? What responsibility or liability does an employer have towards his employees? This article will describe what Michigan law has to say about this. The fine points of the law on this matter are not exactly light reading, but please bear with me. If indeed you are an employee then you could be in for some pleasant surprises.

First of all, what is an employer? Section 41 of the Michigan Employment Security Act replies:

• If the employing unit employs one or more persons in any 20 different calendar weeks (Sunday through Saturday) in a calendar year (January 1 through December 31); or
• If the employing unit pays (or owes payment of) total wages of $1,000.00 or more in a calendar year.
• If the employing unit acquires the organization, trade, or business, or 75% or more of the assets of a company that was already an employer liable for the payment of unemployment taxes. Becoming an employer in this way is known as “successorship.” (For more information on successorship, see the separate Factsheet on the “Transfer of Business” issue.)

Many people are not aware of the implications of this law. If you have a domestic worker and pay him or her $1,000 or more in any one calendar quarter, you are an employer and may be liable to pay unemployment benefits. This does not mean you have to pay unemployment benefits for every worker you pay $1,000 or more in a quarter. See our previous article for more details on which “self-employed” workers qualify for unemployment insurance payments. 

If you qualify as an employer, you are required to fill in a Form Michigan UIA 1009 as soon as you meet the employer criteria. The “Registration Report to Determine Liability (Form U1009) will be used to determine if your employee qualifies for unemployment benefits. You will also need to file Form UIA 1017 (wage report) and Form UIA 1020 (tax report) after 15 days of qualifying as an employer.

Note that you are liable to play unemployment benefits (and other expenses) for your employees whether you register them as independent contractors and you have a written sub-contractor agreement or not.

The quick answer to the question: “Can You Claim Unemployment If You Are Self Employed?” is, of course, no. If you are self-employed you are by definition employed—by yourself, regardless of how “little” or no work you have. Independent contractors  fall into this category of self-employment. Unfortunately a person’s entitlement to unemployment benefits is not dependent exclusively on their actual lack of employment and financial need. To qualify for unemployment benefits you must have been employed by a state-registered employer who had the responsibility of paying your unemployment insurance payments.

The key question that remains to be answered is “what is an employee?”. This is not such a straight-forward a question as it may seem. In fact, you may be an employee without realizing it, and therefore entitled to receive unemployment benefits.

The courts in Michigan use an eight-point reality test used to determine if a worker is in fact an independent contractor or an employee. We list below the reality test in its entirety.

• Whether the employer will incur liability if the relationship terminates at will;
• Whether the work performed is an integral part of the employer’s business;
• Whether the employee depends upon the wages for living expenses;
• Whether the employee furnishes equipment and materials;
• Whether the employee holds himself out to the public as able to perform the same tasks;
• Whether the work involved is customarily performed by an independent contractor;
• The factors of control, payment of wages, maintenance of discipline, and the right to hire and fire employees;
• Weighing those factors which will most favorably effectuate the purposes of the Michigan Employment Security Act.

Source: Michigan UIA.

Does this mean that if you depend on the wages of a main contractor for living expenses, you are automatically considered an employee? No, but it will be taken into consideration with the other seven test points.

Let’s illustrate this with two examples.

Example 1. You are a carpenter and advertise your services in the local newspaper. For a period of time you work for the same contractor every day. However, you maintain and use your own tools and materials and you are paid by the job, not the hour. In this case you would most likely considered an independent contractor or self-employed.

Example 2. You work every day for the same contractor. The contractor provides you with materials and tools, and sets your working hours. You don’t work for anybody else because you already work full time for the contractor. Even if you consider yourself self-employed and you have a “contract”, you are in the eyes of the law and employee and therefore entitled to receive unemployment benefits if all other financial and legal requirements are satisfied.

So, what if you realize you qualify as an employee? What does that mean for  your employer? Find out what the the liability (or responsibilities) of an employer are, according to Michigan law in our next article: Michigan UIA: Employer Liability and Self Employment.

If you are claiming unemployment benefits for the first time, or it has been a long while since your last claim, you probably have questions on the issue of unemployment benefits and taxes.

Joyce, one of our readers, is going through the ordeal of bankruptcy and unemployment. She had these questions on the issue of tax payments.

I hope you can help me, I am in a bit of a bind. I am going through a bankruptcy and need an itemized statement for my lawyer that states how much my unemployment is and how much taxes are taken out of each individual check. I only have the slips of withdrawal from the ATM machine and half of them you cannot read. I called unemployment and was told there was nothing they could do, that they just send an amount to the bank. I then went to Chase bank and was told that they could not do anything because the money is taken directly from the card; that if I had direct deposit they could help me. I didn’t know direct deposit was even an option. Could you please let me know if there is an option on the website that will allow me to print out something that will satisfy the lawyers? If not, at my e-mail address could you leave me the name and number of someone I could notify that would help me with my problem? Thank you, I really would appreciate it.

If you are not familiar with tax legislation you may be now asking yourself, “Do you have to pay taxes on your unemployment benefits?” The answer is yes. You might find it ironic you have to send back money you were given by the government in the first place, but unemployment benefits are considered income and therefore are taxable.

However, how this works in practice confuses a lot of unemployed workers. So what can Joyce do to?

It depends on whether she claimed her weekly benefits online or over the phone and if she asked Michigan’s Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) to withhold her taxes before payment. We do not have enough information to give Joyce a detailed response, but we are going to dedicate a series of articles on the general issue of unemployment benefits tax deductions to provide information and tips that will help Joyce and many other unemployed workers in her situation.

For a detailed description of how you can calculate your total unemployment benefits and withheld income tax deductions go directly to the last article in our series.

You can reduce some of the uncertainty of unemployment by calculating what your unemployment benefits will be, or would be if you claimed for unemployment today. Knowing what your income will be if you lose your job will help you plan ahead and adjust your budget accordingly.

The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency calculates your weekly benefit amount (i.e. how much money you receive every week) on what your wages were during your base period and your highest earning quarter during that period.

Let’s start by clarifying a couple of technical terms we will use furthern on.

Your base period comprises the first four quarters of the last five quarters from the date you file your initial unemployment benefits claim.

Your highest earning quarter is the quarter you earned the most money. For the purposes of calculating your unemployment benefits a year is divided into the following quarters: Quarter 1 –January to March, Quarter 2 –April to June, Quarter 3 –July to September and Quarter 4 –October to December.

CALCULATE YOUR WEEKLY BENEFIT AMOUNT

Step 1. Figure out if you qualify for unemployment benefits. Click here for a summary on the Michigan UIA eligibility criteria.

Step 2. Determine how much you earned in your highest earning quarter. Remember to use your gross wages (i.e. before taxes and other deductions).

Step 3. Multiply your gross wages for your highest earning quarter by 0.041. This calculates the 4.1 percent of your high-earning quarter wages.

Step 4. Add six dollars for every dependent (i.e. people under your care that rely on your income) up to a maximum of five.

Step 5. Round your result to the nearest whole number. For example if your result is $194.6, round up to $195.

FOR EXAMPLE: If you earned $4,000 in your high earning quarter and have two dependents, your weekly benefit amount would be: ($4,000 x 0.041) + 12 = $176

Note: The Michigan UIA has set a maximum weekly benefit amount of $362. If your result is higher, you will still receive $362.

CALCULATE HOW LONG YOUR BENEFITS WILL LAST

Now you have calculated how much you will get every week you need to know how long you will receive these benefits for. The minimum period in Michigan is 14 weeks and the maximum is 26 weeks.

Step 1. Determine what your total wages were during your base period (See above for a definition of base period).

Step 2. Multiply your total base period wages by 0.43. This calculates 43 percent of your total gross wages.

Step 3. Divide your result by the weekly benefit amount you calculated above.

Step 4. Round down your result by the nearest half week.

FOR EXAMPLE: If your base period earnings were $10,000, your calculations would be: ($12,000 x 0.43) divided by $176 = 29.3, or 29 weeks if we round it down to the closest half week. However, the maximum is 26 weeks so 26 weeks is the maximum you would get.

States like Michigan, with an unemployment rate higher than 8.5 percent, receive the maximum 99 weeks of unemployment benefits.

One of the most popular queries on our site is eligibility for EUC and EB programs. If you are wondering if you qualify for an unemployment benefits program, you have come to the right place. In this article we will look into the basic eligibility requirement for the EUC and EB programs and answer a sample of questions our readers have posted in the last month.

The EUC program stands for Emergency Unemployment Compensation. It is a federally funded program, which means employers do not contribute towards EUC payments. The program provides a maximum of 53 weeks of unemployment compensation to unemployed workers who have exhausted their standard state unemployment benefits.

If you qualified for Michigan State Unemployment Benefits, you will most likely qualify for EUC benefits, as long as you continue to be fit and willing to work.

The Extended Benefits is also a federally sponsored program, although payments are shared between the government and employers. The program offers up to 20 weeks to unemployed workers who have exhausted their EUC benefits. Although most unemployed workers will qualify for EB compensation, you must be ready to provide more detailed information on your job searching efforts.

Readers Questions:

I exhausted my EB at the end Oct,2010. Do i no longer qualify for benefits? Donna Ward

I am afraid the answer is no. Once you exhaust your 20 EB weeks there is currently no other unemployment program in Michigan you can apply for.

Is there another tier for people,who start get unemployment
in 2007 and use all of the employment, and extend benefit,
are we entitle to this extend benfit. Beverley Fields

Again, the answer is no. If you have exhausted your tier 4 EUC benefits and you EB compensation you are not entitled to any more benefits. There has been a lot of talk about a fifth tier and many articles and news stories reported the December 17th, 2010 EUC extension as an expansion of the program. The truth, of course, is the extension only helps those who have not used their EUC and EB benefits.

Those that have exhausted all their Michigan UIA and federal benefits are called 99ers, because of the maximum 99 weeks available to unemployed workers. This name is actually a misnomer as unemployed workers in many states with unemployment rates below 8.5 percent receive less than 99 weeks. The factor that determines the number of EUC  weeks a state receives is its seasonally adjusted three month unemployment rate. States with an unemployment rate above 6 percent get tier 3 benefits, while states with an unemployment rate of 8.5 percent get access to tier 4 benefits and the maximum 99 weeks entitlement.