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UIA reports modernization progress, lower fraud rates and fund recovery; committee asks operational questions
Summary
Unemployment Insurance Agency officials told the Oversight Committee the agency has reduced fraud rates, launched digital tools and is replacing legacy systems with a new MyUI platform; members asked for detail on investigations, staffing and fraud timelines.
The Unemployment Insurance Agency told the Oversight Committee it has moved from pandemic-era operational challenges toward a modernization agenda it says will make benefit payments faster, reduce fraud and improve customer service.
Brent, head of the Operations Bureau at UIA, briefed the committee with Chief Operating Officer Brett Gleason and legislative affairs representative Andrew Crane. He said the agency—s priorities include modernizing systems, improving customer service, supporting reemployment partnerships and resolving persistent operational challenges.
"At the center of our work is a transformation guided by one principle, delivering fast, fair, and fraud free service," Brent said, describing technology, identity-verification and anti-fraud measures. He told the committee UIA—s new system, MyUI, is intended to replace aging platforms (Midas and MyUIAM) and is targeted to go live in early 2026.
UIA officials said the agency has exceeded U.S. Department of Labor benchmarks for first-time payment promptness and reported a fraud rate now well below the federal 3% threshold. Since 2020 the agency reported over 165 individuals charged, 126 convictions and more than $90,000,000 recovered. They said Michigan is piloting image-alteration detection technology and participates in national data-sharing tools, including the NASWA Integrity Data Hub.
Brent framed the UIA program as both benefit administration and reemployment: the agency administers reemployment services and eligibility assessment work (RESEA), partners with Michigan Works on job matching and intends to use the modernization to better connect claimants with work.
Officials provided operational data: in the last 12 months the agency said it served about 216,000 beneficiaries, with an average weekly benefit of $347 and an average duration of 11 weeks. Employer-side statistics included roughly 240,000 contributing employers and 5,500 reimbursing employers (governments and nonprofits). UIA said its trust fund had recovered from $513,000,000 in 2021 to about $2,590,000,000 at the time of testimony.
Committee members asked detailed operational questions. In response, Brent said the agency has about 760 state staff and uses additional limited-term employees (LTEs) for investigations; investigations staffing numbers and average case timelines vary and officials said they would provide more precise figures on request. On funding, UIA said about 90% of administrative operations are federally funded, the agency has a $20 million annual appropriation from its contingent fund for state support and modernization relies on one-time state or federal investments such as ITIF.
Members pressed about the agency—s pandemic-era overpayments and fraud. Brent said UIA investigates all cases it can identify and pursues charges where perpetrators can be located; he noted pandemic-era imposter fraud often involved individuals who are difficult to trace.
The committee thanked UIA representatives for their testimony and noted Director Jason Palmer is scheduled to appear at a future meeting for further discussion.
