Michigan Legislature approves bill to extend, boost unemployment benefits

The Legislature approved Senate Bill 40 Dec. 13 to increase unemployment insurance benefits. If Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signs the bill into law, it will also increase the amount of time a person can claim unemployment from 20 weeks to 26 weeks.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Paul Wojno, D-Warren, would increase the maximum weekly payout from $362 to $614 by 2027, with incremental increases in 2025 and 2026.

Wojno did not respond to an email seeking comment.

“That money goes straight back into the economy and it’s really a buffer for folks who need it,” Sen. Cherry, D-Flint, told reporters after legislative session on Dec. 10, the Michigan Advance reported.

The change will trigger even higher tax increases on employers,Dave Worthams, director of employment policy at the Michigan Manufacturers Association, said in a press release.

“Increasing the weekly maximum benefit with an undefined cost to Michigan job providers is irresponsible and will threaten the state’s competitiveness compared to neighboring states,” Worthams said.

The Senate Fiscal Agency determined that when the maximum payout reaches $612 per week in 2027, it will result in $531.1 million in additional disbursals from the state unemployment account funded by taxes on employers. This would increase total payouts by $1.3 to $1.4 billion at current payout levels, the agency said. If the state experiences an economic recession, the payout total will increase, along with unemployment claims.

This change will do more harm than good, said Wendy Block, senior VP of business advocacy for the Michigan Chamber of Commerce.

“This is another massive variable and another consequence of rushing public policy that fails to take into consideration these kinds of real impacts that end up causing more harm than good,” Block wrote in an email to Michigan Capitol Confidential.

Private employers will have to pay higher taxes to fund the boosted benefits, Rep. William Bruck, R-Erie, told CapCon.

The Legislature, currently controlled by Democrats, did not work with private employers or chambers of commerce on this bill, he said.

The bill did not go through a committee on the House side, where interested individuals and organizations usually express concerns and request changes, Bruck said.