How Do I Claim Unemployment Benefits with the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Assistance?

If you are a resident of Michigan, the Great Lakes State, there may come a time when you would like to file a claim for unemployment benefits. Working with the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Assistance program can be much easier when you are adequately prepared. This article was written with that in mind.

Are you ready to begin? Very good. Let's get moving:

1. If you are an employee in Michigan and lose your job, be certain that you file your unemployment claim as soon as you are able to. This is so you can begin collecting unemployment benefits quickly.

2. If your claim is successfully processed by the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Assistance program, your weekly unemployment benefits are calculated using a base period. To qualify for unemployment, it is necessary for you to have earned wages in two of the previous four quarters in your previous base period. Your unemployment base period is usually the first four of the previous five quarters before the date of your unemployment claim.

3. In Michigan, the most anyone can qualify for is $362 every week. You're going to want to take your earnings during your highest-earning quarter in your base period and then multiply that by 4.1%. That is how you calculate your maximum weekly benefit.

4. Michigan allows people to claim unemployment benefits for up to 20 weeks unless they find a new job. You must also continue to look for work during the time you collect unemployment benefits.

5. It is important to know that you must have lost your job through no fault of your own. If you lost your job because it was your fault, you are not eligible for unemployment benefits. This would include losing your job for misconduct, for example.

6. Before filing an unemployment claim in the state of Michigan, you should collect the following items: your social security number, a DD Form 214 (if you were active military during the previous two years), identification number or your driver's license number, banking information if you would like direct deposit, your previous employer's business information, the reason your previous job was ended, your phone number, the address at which you receive your mail, an alien identification or registration number (non-US citizens), your latest wage information, your home address, the amount of any severance pay you may have received (if that is applicable), any other states you have worked in during the last 18 months and your personal email address.

7. You can apply for your benefits by using the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity website.

8. In the event your unemployment claim is denied, you can file an appeal within 30 days from the date you received the denial letter. That letter will explain to you how to start the "redetermination" process.

9. If you still would like some help with the process of claiming unemployment benefits in the state of Michigan, you can click here for our dedicated contact page. This page has information on how to easily get in touch with a human at the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity.