Deadline for Michigan’s $20 million settlement over false unemployment fraud expires

LANSING, MI – The deadline is approaching for Michigan residents to file a $20 million settlement in a class action lawsuit with the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency.

It is a lawsuit alleging that the state wrongfully accused workers of unemployment fraud between 2013 and 2015.

Applicants must submit a signed release by August 19 to potentially be eligible for a payment.

Nine years ago, workers sued the state after about 40,000 people were falsely accused of fraud between October 1, 2013, and August 31, 2015. Brauserman v. Unemployment alleged that the state violated due process rights when Michigan’s unemployment system, known as MiDAS, falsely flagged thousands of accounts, prompting the agency to garnish wages and confiscate tax refunds.

The Michigan Court of Claims approved the settlement in January 2023.

Related: 3,200 workers falsely accused of unemployment fraud should soon receive checks

Nearly 400 potential class action members must return a properly signed release to Analytics Consulting, the settlement’s claims adjuster, to be eligible for payment. For more information, visit Michigan.gov/UIA or UIAClassAction.com.

The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency also agreed to a $55 million settlement earlier this year to resolve a class action lawsuit over pandemic benefits. The suit accused the agency of seeking benefits from workers and collecting overpayments caused by an agency error.