Changes are coming to Michigan's unemployment system
(CBS DETROIT) - Big changes are coming to the Michigan Unemployment Agency that should make it easier for people to file.
"It's going to provide such a great opportunity for transformation, to provide better customer service in a way that is going to be user-friendly for both claimants and Michigan businesses," said Julia Dale, director of the UIA. "We're not just talking about fixing one area of the system, but replacing the entirety of the UI program and it's going to be a new design that is more intuitive for our users."
Dale said they have contracted with a company called Deloitte to design and install the new system, which will replace the current system, called MiDAS. She said they will be kicking off their initiative at the beginning of 2023 and it will be finished in 2025. They are also continuing their partnership with the Detroit nonprofit Civilla to rethink the language used in their correspondence with the public.
"New correspondence to continue the update on our website and our front facing system, both for workers and for businesses, in an effort to really make it more user friendly, to make our communication clearer, more concise and easier to understand," said Dale.
Dale said they received a grant of nearly $6.8 million from the Department of Labor to focus on addressing issues of equity when it comes to accessing the unemployment system, interacting with the agency, and more.
"We are going to look at the numbers of who we are paying out claims to and making sure that we're seeing, you know, equitable payment to people of all backgrounds," said Dale. "We're also looking at language barriers that exist. We recognize that we have a diverse community within the state of workers, and we want to make sure that our materials and resources are accessible to all."