How to File for Unemployment Benefits in Michigan?

Claims through nearest state unemployment offices
One way is to contact your nearest state unemployment office for information, instructions and forms. You can apply online on the internet or through the phone. In others, you might have to visit the local offices personally to complete the formalities yourself. You can look up the nearest office in the phone book from your local telephone company.These offices are gemerally listed under State Government Offices or similar heading in the government section near the front of the phone book. However, it might not be listed as the State Unemployment Office. Each directory is different.
Claims by Mail
Jobless workers may take cuts in line by using convenient Claims by Mail service. Mail-in applications are available in Bureau branch offices, most Michigan Works! Service centers and in the Forms section of our Web site.

Internet Claims
To use the on-line service, applicants must be filing a new or additional claim. An additional claim is one filed to reactivate benefits when a person already has a claim in existence, interrupts the payment of benefits on the claim by returning to work, and then becomes unemployed again.

Applicants filing new claims must meet these criteria:
• Are not employed full time.
• Have been employed during the past 18 months.
• Live in Michigan.
• Were employed by only one Michigan employer during the past 18 months.
• Filed a claim for unemployment benefits during the past 10 years.
• Did not work in family employment.
• Were not in Military Service during the past 18 months.
• Were not employed by the federal government during the past 18 months.
• Did not work in another state during the past 18 months.
• Did not file a claim against another state during the past 12 months.
• Did not work under more than one social security number during the past 18 months.
• Are not trying to claim past weeks of benefits.

Eligibility for Michigan Unemployment Benefits
The basic requirements for collecting unemployment benefits are:
• You must have been employed. The Michigan Consumer and Industry Services publish requirements for wages earned or time worked during an established period of time referred to as a “base period.”
• You have to determine that your unemployment was not due to fault of your own as defined under Michigan law.
• You must file ongoing claims and respond to questions concerning your continued eligibility. Any earning from work and job offers or refusals from work must be reported during the claim period.

To Make the Process Easier
In order to make the process of submitting your application run smoothly, try to ensure that you have details of your recent employer including their name, address and the dates of your employment. Copy any written evidence you have that shows that your unemployment was not through any fault of your own.
If your claim is successful you should receive Michigan unemployment benefits for a period of between 14 and 26 weeks. At present, Michigan unemployment benefits average between $81 and $362.

One of the primary services run through all the agencies is the automated labor exchange service called Michigan’s Talent Bank. Depending on the needs of a local area you will find adult, youth and dislocated workers programs. The service centers provide various welfare reform programs in addition to their unemployment office services.

For a guide to the full listing of benefits available as well as the address and phone number of whichever Michigan Works! Agency unemployment office nearest your location, set your browser to http://www.michiganworks.org/page.cfm/14/ and download the PDF (portable document file) guide to over a hundred locations throughout the State.

Through the development of the Michigan Works! Association, the State has centralized both the public and private sectors of government and business so that a more effective and smooth program is available to the citizens of Michigan. Replacing older and more cumbersome unemployment office systems in 1987, Michigan Works! has been recognized as the most innovative plan of its type in the nation.

Coupling the basic relief provided by an unemployment office with many career advancement services and education, Michigan Works! helps make the workers of Michigan even more valuable in their next job. If you are currently employed, you may find that by checking with Michigan Works!, you can prepare yourself for an even better job or career in the future.