U of M Legal Aid Professor Hired To Run Michigan Unemployment Agency

LANSING (AP) — A legal aid professor will lead Michigan's Unemployment Insurance Agency after he helped create legislation aimed at improving it in the wake of a scandal in which people were falsely accused of fraud.

The hiring of Steve Gray was announced Monday. He starts June 3.

Gray is director and founder of the University of Michigan Law School's Unemployment Insurance Clinic, which helps families navigate the unemployment benefits system. He participated in a workgroup that crafted new unemployment insurance laws in 2017.

Stephanie Beckhorn is acting director of the Department of Talent and Economic Development, which oversees the Unemployment Insurance Agency. She says it's an "honor to have someone with such intense dedication and understanding of the system" lead the agency.

Gray succeeds Michelle Beebe and will make $145,000 a year.

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