Michigan Employer Advisor: March 2024

Greetings, Employers!

Last month, the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) launched an innovative, new resource for Michigan businesses.

The Employer Help Center answers your questions about unemployment insurance, taxes, and claim issues. It is designed with the busy employer in mind using clear language, a clean look, handy links, and timely information.

It has proven to be an extremely useful resource that empowers employers. Through March 19, the Employer Help Center is the fourth most-popular resource on UIA’s website with approximately 27,000 page views and 18,000 users since its launch in early February.

Don't forget to bookmark Michigan.gov/UIAEmployerHelpCenter for easy and direct access to this popular tool.

A companion to the Employer Help Center is the UIA Claimant Roadmap, which is the most popular resource on our website. If you have to make the difficult decision to lay off employees, please advise them of the Claimant Roadmap, which is a simple, six-step guide to applying for benefits and certifying work searches. You can find more information on this resource at Michigan.gov/UIAClaimantRoadmap.

We also wanted to mention that UIA is renovating five of its Local Offices, which would affect your employees who may need to schedule in-person appointments at the Sterling Heights, Saginaw, Grand Rapids, Lansing, or Detroit offices.

The closures and renovation work will take about two months to complete at each location. During construction, UIA staff will move to temporary office locations to serve claimants. You can learn more about the customer-focused renovations and short-term office moves in this media release.

If you want to suggest an article or topic for a future edition of the Employer Advisor newsletter, or just want to tell us how much you enjoy reading it, please send a message to UIA-EmployerAdvisor@Michigan.gov. You can find past newsletters on the Employer Homepage at Michigan.gov/UIA.

You Can Now Search Addresses to See if Job Hire Qualifies for WOTC Credit

Employers, did you realize that you could earn a federal tax credit simply for hiring individuals from underserved populations?

You may already be aware of earning a tax credit through the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) program for hiring individuals that have received state benefits such as Food Stamps (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Social Security (SSI) benefits. But did you realize that your newly hired employee’s address could also qualify you for a tax credit?

Your new hire must live in one of Michigan’s “designated communities,” which include the Rural Renewal Counties (RRC) of Gogebic, Marquette, and Ontonagon, and Detroit’s Empowerment Zone.

The U.S. Department of Labor (U.S. DOL) provides an Empowerment Zone Address Locator Tool. It works by submitting two queries: the first one determines the geographical coordinates of the address, and the second one whether those coordinates fall within an Empowerment Zone.

WOTC also can be used when you hire qualified summer youth employees. Other target groups include qualified military veterans, qualified ex-felons, vocational rehab referral recipients, and qualified long-term unemployment recipients.

Take advantage of these tax credits by having your employees complete forms 8850 and 9061. You can submit the forms through your Michigan Web Account Manager (MiWAM) account within 28 days of the employee’s start date.

For additional information, please contact the WOTC unit at WOTCUnit@Michigan.gov or review the Employer Help Center at Michigan.gov/UIAEmployerHelpCenter.

The U.S. DOL also provides these additional WOTC resources.

Now's Time to Decide if You Want to Participate in Apportionment Program

The UIA’s Office of Employer Ombudsman reminds employers that this is the time of year to submit a request for apportionment.

Apportionment allows contributing employers to distribute their First Quarter UIA payments equally throughout the four quarters in the year. Historically, the First Quarter payment is the highest since employers have to meet and be taxed on every employee’s taxable wage base (TWB), which is $9,500 per employee.

A request to participate can only be made in the first quarter of each calendar year and must be submitted through your Michigan Web Account Manager (MiWAM) account (see how below). Service providers and third-party administrators (TPAs) can make this request on behalf of their clients using the bulk report file submission.

Employers must meet several compliance requirements to be able to participate in apportionment and UIA will notify employer if a request has been accepted or denied.

There’s more information about Apportionment at Michigan.gov/UIA.

Employers Can Submit Fact-Finding Form Electronically in MiWAM

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to remove an incorrect description of SIDES brokers.

The State Information Data Exchange System (SIDES) is a nationally driven initiative that allows employer and their third-party administrators (TPAs) to submit fact finding responses.

Using the Michigan Web Account Manager (MiWAM), employers and their TPAs are automatically alerted if there are SIDES issues that need to be processed.

The program, a partnership between the U.S. Department of Labor (U.S. DOL), unemployment insurance agencies in each state, and the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA), is a secure point of contact that benefits everyone by reducing postage costs and establishing an audit trail. By using SIDES, employers also avoid being determined to be non-responsive to fact-finding inquiries from the UIA.

The TPA must be authorized to receive the client’s contested claims and claims control mail. Employers must review their TPA’s authorizations when requesting a SIDES broker to represent them in fact-finding matters.  

Employers who choose to manage their own SIDES responses can participate by registering through their MiWAM account.

There’s more information about SIDES at Michigan.gov/UIA.

UIA Introduces the Name for its New Computer System for Employers

The UIA has announced a forward-thinking identity for the new computer system that we are installing. It will now be known as MiUI, and is part of our long-term strategy to replace our decade-old MiWAM computer system.

MiUI has a fresh, modern-looking logo that is a break from the past and embodies our agency modernization efforts. MiUI is scheduled to be fully functional for our customers including both employers and claimants in 2025. 

This announcement is part of our planned regular cadence of MiUI messages for employers, third-party administrators (TPAs), and external partners. We’ll communicate with broader audiences through this newsletter and specific audiences with targeted communications. The messages will contain information on what to know, what to do, resources, and contact information for the MiUI rollout.  

Where are we now?   
We are in the build and design stages of the new system. For some parts of the agency, the functional team is starting to design the framework based on unique requirements. In other parts, the functional team is establishing the system flow and determining how each part of the system will work with every other part. 

Building a system that works for you and making substantive changes to modernize how you interact with UIA takes time and effort to incorporate important feedback. As the rollout continues, we’ll keep you informed about changes that will affect you. As always, we encourage your feedback. 

Through the UIA Modernization Workgroup, which includes representatives of business groups across the state, the agency has already received valuable insight into how the employer community would like to receive communications about the new system. We are incorporating those ideas into our communications strategy. 

What changes are coming? 
One of the upgrades with MiUI will specifically provide state employers and TPAs more flexibility to submit wages. For example, the system will allow users to manually input wages, copy information from previous quarters, and use multiple wage file formats (e.g., XML, CSV, ICESA, and EFW2). This is just one benefit that MiUI will bring.

Where can you go with questions? 
We want to hear from you! You can send your questions to UIA-EmployerAdvisor@Michigan.gov or contact the Office of Employer Ombudsman at 1-855-484-2636, Option 4.

Deadline Reminder: Q1 Tax Payment Reminder Due April 25