MI Extended Benefits Fix Signed into Law

For those of you in Michigan who are on extended benefits, or may soon be eligible for them the last couple of weeks has been a bit of a roller-coaster.  Governor Rick Snyder passed legislation to fix the extended benefits for the state. He also made Michigan the first state to reduce unemployment from 26 weeks to 20 weeks. Obviously this hasn’t been a small news blip, it has even gained interest from the New York Times and they point out that Florida is also considering similar legislation.

You can read Rick Synders reaction to protests regarding the cut of state unemployment from 26 weeks to 20 is as follows:

From: Snyder, Rick (GOV) [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Friday, March 25, 2011 1:11 PM
To: Mitchell Hirsch
Subject: RE: VETO the Cuts to State UI Benefits; SUPPORT a Simple Extended Benefits Fix

Thank you for contacting the Executive Office of the Governor regarding unemployment benefits in Michigan and HB 4408. I appreciate your time in writing and your willingness to participate in the democratic process.

Presently, job providers finance 100 percent of the costs of the unemployment program. HB 4408 will allow job providers to redirect their limited financial resources to potentially rehire those currently receiving assistance.

HB 4408 makes a practical change to the state’s unemployment insurance program. This change allows workers to remain eligible for extended benefits through the federal government. We had to move swiftly to ensure 150,000 Michiganders would not be affected at the end of this year. This practical change will help over 37,000 jobless workers keep benefits they would have lost starting April 2.

Reinventing Michigan demands that we break the bad habits of the past and embrace opportunities for our future. As your governor, I will continue to work tirelessly to help turn around Michigan’s economy. I will continue to fight to create more and better jobs so that we can hopefully reduce the need for unemployment in the first place.

Again, thank you for sharing your concerns with me on these important matters. Should you have any further comments or concerns regarding this or any other matter, please do not hesitate to contact my office at 517-335-7858.

Sincerely,

Rick Snyder

Governor

NELP has a full breakdown of what happened for those of your interested in the full details.

We have a good breakdown of MARVIN for those of you in Michigan, and a bit of history for the EB fix in our unemployment category.  Don’t be afraid to check out our new job search listings while you are here.