Michigan Unemployment System Goes Dark Nov. 2

LANSING, Mich. — Anyone drawing unemployment in Michigan has until Monday, Nov. 2, at 4:30 p.m. to file a certification in the old online system before the state agency shuts down for a week to move to new software.

The Unemployment Insurance Agency is replacing its 14-year-old Michigan Web Account Manager, known as MiWAM, with a platform called MiUI. The new system opens on Monday, Nov. 9, at 8 a.m. In between, the agency calls the gap a downtime period, used to carry current and historical records over to MiUI.

For that week, claimants will have no online access at all. Local offices will be closed, customer service lines and the Office of Employer Ombudsman phones will be down, and certifications and work-search reports cannot be submitted. Mail and faxes will still be accepted, and general information and a chatbot remain available on the agency website. State offices are also closed Tuesday, Nov. 3, for Election Day.

On Nov. 2, anyone may certify regardless of their normally assigned day and time. Those who miss the window can certify later for past weeks, including the shutdown week, once MiUI opens, though their payments may be delayed.

The switch brings a change in rhythm. Claimants will certify every week and be paid every week, instead of the current every-other-week schedule, and they still must report at least three distinct work searches each week. Payment methods stay the same, with deposits to a bank account or to a U.S. Bank debit card.

Two phone options disappear for good. The MARVIN automated phone line used for certifying goes offline permanently when the shutdown begins, and new claims can no longer be filed by phone. People with an open claim will not need to file again in MiUI, and they will sign in through a MiLogin account.

Employers have their own deadline. Businesses have used MiUI for tax tasks since February and must set up their self-service account by 4:30 p.m. Nov. 2, using an activation code in their master MiWAM account, before handling benefit duties in the new system starting Nov. 9.

Filed under: Ann Arbor MI Business News