2024 Senate Bill 962

AI Analysis – Experimental

Senate Bill No. 962 proposes comprehensive amendments to the Michigan Employment Security Act, specifically targeting sections 28d, 29, 29a, 33, and 62. The bill outlines the criteria for approving shared-work plans, which are designed to prevent layoffs by reducing employee hours and providing partial unemployment benefits. These plans must apply to a single affected unit, include at least two participating employees, and ensure that fringe benefits remain unaffected. The reduction in work hours must be between 10% and 60%, and the plan's duration cannot exceed 52 weeks.

The bill also revises the conditions under which individuals are disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits. It specifies that individuals who voluntarily leave work without good cause attributable to the employer, are discharged for misconduct, or fail to apply for or accept suitable work, among other reasons, will be disqualified. However, exceptions are made for individuals who leave work due to domestic violence, to accept other full-time employment, or to self-isolate due to COVID-19.

Additionally, the bill addresses the process for appealing unemployment benefit determinations. Appeals must be referred to an administrative law judge, who will provide a fair hearing and issue a decision. The bill also stipulates that the unemployment agency can recover improperly paid benefits within three years of the final determination, with certain exceptions for cases involving identity fraud or intentional misrepresentation. Importantly, the bill mandates that an unemployment agency employee or agent must independently verify any willful or intentional violation before making a determination, ensuring that claimants or employers are not sanctioned based solely on computer-identified discrepancies.

The legislation impacts various stakeholders, including employees, employers, and the unemployment agency. Employees benefit from protections against layoffs and disqualification under specific conditions, while employers are provided with mechanisms to manage workforce reductions without resorting to layoffs. The unemployment agency is tasked with ensuring compliance and recovering improperly paid benefits. The bill includes provisions for waiving recovery of improperly paid benefits if repayment would be contrary to equity and good conscience. Before initiating recovery, the agency must review the claim for all possible waivers and issue a detailed notice to the claimant, outlining the waivers considered, determinations made, and the claimant's appeal rights.

By January 31 each year, beginning in 2019, the unemployment agency is required to provide a written report regarding waivers to the chairpersons of the standing committees and appropriations subcommittees of the House of Representatives and Senate with jurisdiction over employment security legislation. This report must include detailed information on waiver procedures, the number of applications received, the number of waivers granted and denied by various methods, and the total amount of restitution waived.