Employer Web Account Manager (EWAM) gives employers the ability to create a secure web account for exchanging information with the Unemployment Insurance Agency.

EWAM has been improved to provide access to both Tax and Benefit on-line applications using a single login. With the creation of an EWAM account, the account owner (employer) and any designated representatives will have the ability to:

• File Quarterly Wage Reports



• File Quarterly Tax Reports



• Make a Tax Payment



• Request/Receive Tax Statements



• Submit Electronic Files for the Wage Report, Tax Report and Payment, and Employer Filed Claims



• File Protests for Tax and Claim Issues



• Respond to Fact Finding Questionnaires

The first step in using the EWAM is to create a web account. To do this, you will need a UIA employer account number. If you do not already have a UIA employer account number, please visit Michigan Business One Stop at www.michigan.gov/business to utilize the Register for Taxes option and obtain one. You can also complete Form 518 found at www.michigan.gov/uia under the Forms link to register for a UIA employer account number. If you have a UIA employer account number, after we confirm your identity, we will send you a letter with your password via the US Postal Service. This security measure will ensure the information is available only to you. The letter will be sent to the business address on record with UIA. If your business address has changed and you have not yet updated it with UIA, it is important that you do so before setting up your EWAM account. Without the correct business address, you will not receive your password.

To update your business address, complete Form UIA 1025 (available on this web site in the Forms section) and mail it to the address on the form or fax it to 313-456-2131. Please allow 10 business days for the processing of the address change. It is recommended that you verify the address change has been processed prior to proceeding with the creation of an EWAM account to ensure that you will receive your password. To verify your address change, telephone 1-800-638-3994 (in Michigan) or 313-456-2180 and have your UIA employer account number available.

Once you receive your password, you can sign into EWAM and access any of the above-mentioned applications. As the account owner (employer) you will have access to all services offered on-line. In addition, you can add other users within or outside of your company to your account in order to perform on-line business transactions on your behalf.

Beginning in December 2009, newly registered employers will be automatically enrolled in EWAM and mailed a password letter to their business address. EWAM can also be accessed through the Michigan Business One Stop web portal at www.michigan.gov/business.

FOR EMPLOYERS (Account Owners):

• You will have full ownership and responsibility for your EWAM account,



• Account owners and their designee(s) must agree to an Acceptable Use Security agreement upon their first login,



• The account owner shall be provided a detailed account of activity on any user authorized to perform services for your account,



• Account owners may grant or revoke authorizations to any user(s) on their account,



• For the following tax applications, a Power of Attorney must be verified or created via an on-line Power of Attorney submission:



• File a Quarterly Tax Report



• Make A Tax Payment



• File submit for Tax Report and Bulk Payment



• Request/Receive Tax Statements

FOR EMPLOYER REPRENSENTATIVES:

• Employer Representatives may be granted access to multiple employer accounts,



• Employer Representatives may be given authorization to add users, but only for benefit and wage reporting services that they, themselves, can access,



• Employer Representatives will be able to view detailed information on all accounts for which they are authorized.

SITE OUTLINE AND DETAILS:

1. Create an EWAM Account- Creating an EWAM account will allow you to transact company business with the Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) via your computer. In order to create an account, you must have a UIA employer account number issued by UIA. Creating an EWAM account to access functions and services on-line, will save postage, time, and provide convenient access to your unemployment account information.


User Information - Basic information, such as your employer account number, e-mail address, business zip code, telephone number, etc. is required to open an EWAM account.


2. Log On - You will be required to log on every time you attempt to access your account from the UIA website. This is for your benefit. Unfortunately, fraud is a fact of life. Requiring this log on adds security for you. Your password should be kept confidential. If you access EWAM from the Michigan Business One Stop (One Stop), once you log on to your One Stop account and have successfully logged on to your EWAM account through this web portal you will not be required to continuously enter your EWAM user name and password.
   
   Retrieve User Name - If you forget your user name, you will be prompted to provide the e-mail address, password, and answer a 'secret question' that you supplied an answer for when you initially registered your EWAM account. Properly responding will cause the system to recognize who you are and provide you with your user name. Your user name is case sensitive.
   
   Retrieve Password - If you forget your password, you will be prompted to provide the e-mail address on the EWAM account. Properly responding will cause the system to recognize who you are and e-mail you a new random password. Passwords are encrypted for security reasons. That means that your password is translated into a 'secret' code in our records which no one within UIA can access. If a password is forgotten, a new one must be assigned. If you are the account owner and have not yet successfully logged into EWAM, the automated password re-set will not work. Please contact the Help Desk at 313-456-2188, Monday through Friday from 8 am to 5 pm or vial e-mail at EWAMSupport@michigan.gov for assistance.
   
   For security reasons, all EWAM users will be required to change their password upon initial login. Passwords must contain a unique combination of letters and numbers known only to you and must be between 8 and 30 characters. Your password will expire every 12 months. Upon expiration, you will be prompted to enter a new password.



3. Welcome Page - The Welcome page is like a directory. The account owner or their authorized representative can access functions and services from three areas: User Information, Employer Information, and Services Offered. If you are an authorized representative and have access to multiple employer accounts, you will be asked to select the employer for whom you are performing services upon navigation to your Welcome page.
   
   USER INFORMATION - All functions in this area are available to all EWAM users.
   
   View Account Information - There are three sections on the View Account Information screen: Your Web Account Name and Contact Information, Your Permissions, and Your Activities. Within the View Account Information section you can update your contact information, change your password and change your user name.
   
   Your Permissions is a listing of all services and functions (authorized tasks) that you have access to under your EWAM account as well as the name of the employer(s) for whom you are authorized to perform such tasks.
   
   Your Activities is a display of all activities associated with your individual EWAM account. These can be either tasks that you personally performed or system activities associated with your account. Each listing contains the date and time of the activity, and in many instances, a link to view the details of the activitiy.
   
   Change Password - Selecting this option displays a page that will provide an opportunity to change your password. A password must contain a unique combination of letters and numbers. Passwords are case sensitive and must be between 8 and 30 characters and expire on an annual basis.
   
   Change User Name - Selecting this option will display a page that will provide an opportunity to change your user name. When an EWAM account is initially created, the UIA employer account number is the default user name. You can change your user name to something that is easier to remember if you so desire. Just like your password, your user name is case sensitive.
   
   EMPLOYER INFORMATION
   
   Show Activity - Selecting this option will display a history of activity that has taken place on the EWAM account. Information included here is the user, date and type of activity performed. This feature is available to all EWAM users. However, you may only view activities performed by you and any added users authorized by you.
   
   Show Authorized Users - Selecting this option will display a list of users that have been authorized by you to perform specific functions (authorizations) on the employer account. This feature is only available to the account owner and those users who have been authorized to add users. From this option, you can update authorizations for any displayed user (except yourself). The update includes the ability to delete all authorizations for a user under the account. You are responsible for deleting authorizations for persons who are no longer in your employ as well as representatives who no longer perform services on your behalf. An e-mail notification will be sent to the account owner as well as the individual who added/modified/deleted authorizations whenever a change is made to a user's authorizations.
   
   Add a User - Selecting this option will provide you with the opportunity to authorize a user to perform activity on you employer account. This feature is only available to the account owner and users who have been granted the authorization to Add a User.
   
   The first step to Add a User is to enter the e-mail address of the user you wish to add. The e-mail address for the added user must be different than that of the account owner. The e-mail will be validated to see if the user already has an EWAM account.
   
   If the e-mail address for the added user is not found, you will be asked to provide contact information for this user. If you are the account owner you may add users both within and outside of your company. If you were authorized to Add a User on behalf of the account owner, you can only Add A User if that user works for the same employer where you work. This prevents users who work outside of companies that are not expressly authorized from gaining access to an employer account.
   
   For each user that is added, you are asked to define the user authorizations. If you choose to designate a user to perform activities on your employer account, you must define what activities you want them to be allowed to perform. If you authorize a user for Tax functions, you will be asked to verify that a Power of Attorney is on file for this new user or the user's company. If no Power of Attorney has been filed, you will be provided the ability to create the Power of Attorney.
   
   NOTE: If you attempt to authorize a user who already exists in EWAM, you will be shown the Add a User Already Exists screen. Once there, you can choose to continue with the authorization or enter a different e-mail address.
   
   SERVICES OFFERED - The account owner will have full access to all functions/services offered within EWAM. Authorized users will only be shown the functions/services they have been authorized to perform.
   
   Details and instructions for each of the services offered can be found under the More Information links provided within EWAM. An overview of the services provided can be viewed via the EWAM webcasts found here.