Michigan’s former Unemployment Insurance Agency Director Steve Gray was given $85, 872 in a separation agreement signed in November 2020 to resign. The deal, obtained by , includes a confidentiality clause and requires Gray to “release all claims” against the state.
“Both parties agree that they will not make any statements or take any action disparaging the reputation of the other, whether written or oral, ” the separation agreement states, in addition to the confidentiality clause.
The agreement is similar to the one Robert Gordon signed, in exchange for leaving his role as Michigan Department of Health and Human Services director. Gordon received $155, 506 in his deal, which also had a confidentiality clause.
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Sarah Esty received four weeks pay – about $12, 000 – in her separation agreement with the state in January. Esty was the senior deputy director for policy and planning administration for MDHHS.
Gray took the UIA director position in June 2019. Before that, he managed the University of Michigan Law School Unemployment Insurance Clinic and was a legal aid lawyer before that.
“I am very excited to join the UI team at NELP and to get to work on strengthening our UI system, ” Gray said in a news release last month. “The pandemic-induced economic crisis has exposed structural inequities in our unemployment insurance system. NELP has been a national leader on UI reform, and I look forward to working with the team and NELP partners to patch these holes and build a strong UI system.”
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Michigan’s UIA paid out about $26 billion to jobless workers in 2020. But the agency struggled to keep up with call volumes when the pandemic hit, despite hiring more staff. Many were wrongfully denied unemployment for months.
One month before resigning, Gray told the pandemic had “exposed some of the barriers and cracks we had in the system.”
“That breaks my heart, ” Gray told in October. “As a claimant advocate who spent his life trying to make sure everybody who’s eligible gets the benefits, I understand the bind that not getting paid benefits puts people in better I think than most – because those were my clients for most of my career. It’s why I’m doing this job during this pandemic.”
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If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation.Dawn Parker was laid off this week from her job as volunteer coordinator for the Clinton-Gratiot Habitat for Humanity, a casualty of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of non-essential businesses.
Since Monday, Parker said she’s tried dozens of times to file a claim for Michigan unemployment insurance benefits, to no avail. The online application process isn’t working and she can’t get through by phone, either.
“I have been trying every way I can think, at various times of day and night, to get into the system, said Parker, a 54-year-old Ovid resident.
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When Parker finally was able to access the online system, she got a message that there was an issue requiring her to call the Michigan Unemployment Agency.
She’s called the agency “more times than I can count, ” Parker said, but the line is either busy or she gets a message that because of heavy call volumes, the agency can’t take her call.
With tens of thousands of people laid off in the past two weeks because of the coronavirus outbreak, a system that normally handles 5, 000 claims a week has been overwhelmed, state officials acknowledge.
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To make matters worse, Michigan Works! offices -- where people normally could file an unemployment claim in person -- are only open by appointment because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’ve talked to 10 to 11 people, all who say the system is near crashed right now. It’s frozen, ” said Tony Paris, an employment lawyer with the Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice, a nonprofit based in Detroit. “The computer system itself is incapable of handling the number of folks who at have a right to at least know whether they’re eligible” for benefits.
A total of 108, 710 unemployment insurance claims were filed in Michigan last week compared to a normal average of around 5, 000 claims, according to the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity.
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State officials are urging patience, saying they’re shifting resources to address the problems with filing a claim. They’re also advising people to use the website between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m., when it is least busy, and to look at online information vs. calling the agency to get their questions answered.
“Workers are encouraged to apply online at Michigan.gov/UIA or over the phone at (866) 500-0017, but due to the tremendous call volume, certain callers may receive a busy signal, ” said a UIA press release.
“The UIA is working hard and fast to handle the influx of applications for unemployment benefits as we deal with the COVID-19 crisis. While an unprecedented number of calls and clicks has challenged the system, particularly during peak hours, we want to assure Michiganders that the system is providing emergency financial relief, ” UIA Director Steve Gray said in the press release.
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The agency is “shifting as many resources as possible to handle the increase in applications and is exploring further solutions to help Michiganders get the assistance they need as soon as possible, the agency said.
The agency notes that the online application system is available 24/7, and the best time to access the system is between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m.,
People filing a claim can expected “longer load times, ” the press release said. “It may take several minutes for a page to load at this time. Users are asked to be patient and not click more than once to reload a page.”
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Applicants with questions can also access information on the website Michigan.gov/UIA, including frequently asked questions about the process and current challenges due to COVID-19. Checking the website for answers may help alleviate pressure on the phone line. A downloadable handout on the filing process can be found here.
Mary Kastl, of Alma, was laid off from her job as a quality inspector at auto parts supplier Ventra in Ionia last week. Then, the bills started coming in.
There's still one coming for her because of how the pay periods are staggered. She got on the phone with her auto insurer and mortgage company to come up with a plan. And she went to apply for unemployment insurance, a benefit she says she's lucky to have as a full-time worker.
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She went the online route and got through at an off-peak time, 3 a.m., with the help of a friend. At the part where she had to get an authentication code sent to her cell phone, there was another holdup -- it took hours to arrive. Finally, on Wednesday, she got through and put an application in.
In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus. Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible. Carry hand sanitizer with you, and use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home ( door handles, faucets, countertops ) and when you go into places like stores.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation.Gray was working as a claimant advocate when he exposed a false fraud scandal that rocked state government, prompted then-Gov. Rick Snyder to replace the agency’s director, led to court orders, legislative reforms and sparked a series of class-action lawsuits that could still cost the state millions of dollars or more.
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Appointed director by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in June 2019, Gray now faces calls to resign as he struggles to change the agency again — from the inside, this time — during a global pandemic, economic shutdown and historic surge in jobless claims.
“I love my job, and there’s so much to do right now, so there’s a lot of it to love, ” Gray told Bridge in a phone interview, appearing unfazed by the drama. “It’s kind of become politicized to some extent, but myself and the agency, we’re committed to making sure that people can get paid that are eligible and to do it as quickly as we can.”
Before joining the state government, Gray founded the University of Michigan Law School’s Unemployment Project, a clinic that provides free legal services to residents seeking unemployment benefits. He spent decades as a legal aid lawyer and told Bridge that aiding jobless residents has “kind of been my life’s work.”
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As a claimant advocate, “you begin to see some of the cracks in the system, but you also get a real good understanding of what the system is supposed to be about, ” Gray said. “It kind of turned me into an unemployment nerd.”
Gray was leading the U-M clinic in 2015 when he and a fellow professor alerted federal officials to a troubling trend: The state was accusing
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