Michigan Unemployment Eligibility Calculator
The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency is there to provide Michigan workers with state unemployment benefits until they find new employment. But in order to collect benefit payments, a claimant must show that they meet the requirements set forth by the Michigan unemployment agency.
Monetary eligibility requirements
You must have earned sufficient wages in your base period to collect unemployment insurance.
What is a Base Period?
The base period is the first four complete calendar quarters out of the last five complete calendar quarters before you filed for unemployment. Claimants must have one quarter in which they earned $3,830. There must have been wages earned in at least two calendar quarters out of the four.
The total amount of wages in the base period must total 1.5 times those of your highest earning quarter.
If claimants do not meet these requirements, the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity will look at something called the Alternate Base Period, which is the last four complete calendar quarters prior to the quarter in which you filed your claim.
In Michigan, there is actually a third way for the Unemployment Office to qualify you for benefits. The Alternate Earnings Qualifier will see if you earned wages in at least two calendar quarters, and if the wages earned in your highest earning quarter were at least 20 times the State Average Weekly Wage.
In 2022, the average state wage was $1,163.79. Multiplying that by 20 would yield $23,275.
Non-monetary eligibility requirements
- Able to, willing to, and actively seeking work
- Create a Job Seeker Profile on Pure Michigan Talent Connect
- Meet with Michigan Works staff in person or locally
- Conduct one approved job search activity per week
- Terminated through no fault of your own
- Register on MiWAM and consistently file your biweekly claim on time
Able to, willing to, and actively seeking work
To collect unemployment insurance, you must be available, able, and willing to work. That means you are physically and mentally able to perform the functions required of you at a job. If that’s not the case, you might be better suited looking into workers’ compensation in the short term, and SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance) in the long term. Willingness to work means you will accept any suitable job offer, any day of the week, and any shift.
The term suitable in Michigan refers to a job you are physically able to perform and have education or experience in the field. It will be a reasonable commuting distance and pay a prevailing wage. The prevailing wage is the average industry wage for such a job. In this regard, Michigan is different from states that will allow you to turn down a job if it does not meet the threshold of a certain percentage of your former salary.
You must conduct at least one job search activity per week. Michigan unemployment work search activities can include submitting a job application or resume, going to a career fair, or attending a workshop.
Two related steps to the work search are registering on the Pure Michigan Talent Connect, which can be done at MiTalent.org. You must also meet with staff virtually or in person at a MichiganWorks! Center. They will verify your job seeker profile with the unemployment office. These two steps must be done at least one business day before you file your biweekly certification.
Terminated through no fault of your own
Another significant factor of Michigan unemployment eligibility is how and why you were terminated or laid off. Although you are free to leave a job at any time, in most cases your decision to quit will not qualify you for benefits, unless it was associated with something like sexual harassment, threats, or violence. Remember to document these types of experiences in writing as soon as possible, and find witnesses if necessary, in case you need to file an appeal if your unemployment claim is denied.
Workers who are terminated through no fault of their own have been terminated for reasons other than gross negligence or willful misconduct. Violating significant company policies, either on purpose or even on accident, can be grounds for termination without access to benefits. If you feel that you are entitled to benefits, you should still apply and initiate an appeal if your Monetary Determination Notice says that you are ineligible. Even if it does, you should continue to file your weekly claim while the appeal is in progress.
Examples of quitting for “good cause”
There are some instances where an employee could quit if the reason for quitting is “attributable to the employer.” In Michigan law, the employer must first notify the employer and give them a chance to correct the behavior before quitting. In order to collect Michigan unemployment benefits, a worker must also show that a reasonable person would quit the job under similar circumstances.
Safety, threats, verbal abuse, sexual harassment, or imposition of job duties beyond your job description are good cause reasons to quit. Employers may engage in illegal practices such as asking you to clock out if business is slow, but stick around. It’s a good idea to read up on general employment law in Michigan and inform yourself.
Take note that sometimes an unscrupulous employer will attempt to complicate your ability to collect UI benefits by suggesting you resign. If you feel termination is imminent, let them make that move so you can collect your unemployment compensation.
Disqualifications
- Intoxicated while at work
- Involvement in a labor dispute
- Committing assault and battery at work
- Three consecutive days of no call/no show
- Absent due to conviction and imprisonment
- Repeatedly showing up late, or not at all
- Turning down suitable work while collecting UI benefits
- Failure to notify your temp firm within 7 days of a job ending
- Stealing or willfully destroying business property such as inventory or equipment
Before applying for unemployment benefits, be sure to use the Michigan unemployment calculator. This tool will help you see the amount of potential unemployment assistance that you could be awarded. If the unemployment insurance agency awards a different amount or denies their claim entirely, you have the right to protest the decision. In the meantime, you should continue to file for benefits while their appeal works its way through the Michigan UIA system.
Eligibility Questions
Can I qualify for benefits if I quit?
If you quit your job without having a good cause “attributable to the employer”, then you will be “disqualified” from receiving unemployment benefits. You must then get another job and have earnings with that employer to “requalify” for benefits. But the employer from whom you quit will not be charged for the benefits, even if you requalify and draw benefits.
By law, you must show that you left the job for a reason that would cause a reasonable person, under similar conditions, to leave the job.
In some cases, a physical condition or illness prevents from continuing to work and the employer, when requested, cannot offer the worker a job within the worker’s capacity. In those cases, the quit may be classified as “involuntary” and you will not be disqualified for quitting. However, you must still be able to work at a job you are qualified to do, by past experience or training, to be eligible for benefits.
Proof of Hearing: If either the employer or the unemployed worker appeals the case to an Administrative Law Judge, the employer must first prove that the worker quit the job. The worker must then prove that the employer was at fault for the quit because of something the employer did, or allowed to happen, in the workplace.
The Unemployment Insurance Agency Advocacy Program can provide help to employers and unemployed worker in preparing for Administrative Law Judge and/or Board of Review hearings on this issue. Call 1-800-638-3994.
Can I draw benefits if I am fired?
If you are fired from a job due to misconduct that occurred in connection with the work, then you will be “disqualified” from benefits. You must then get another job and have earnings with that employer to “requalify” for benefits. But the employer from whom you were fired will not be charged for benefits, even if you requalify and draw benefits.
Example: If a worker is repeatedly absent or tardy from work, without justifiable excuse, the worker could be disqualified from obtaining benefits. If a worker is terminated based on arrest occurring on worker’s own time and not related with work, then the worker would not be disqualified.
If a worker is discharged for being unable to meet production quotas, but is otherwise a cooperative worker, that worker will possibly not be disqualified from collecting unemployment benefits.
Proof of Hearing: If either the employer or the jobless worker appeals the case to an Administrative Law Judge, then the employer must confirm that the worker engaged in misconduct and that the misconduct occurred in connection with the work. Except in the gravest offenses, the employer must also prove that the worker was aware of the employer’s work rules and that the actions of the worker were harmful to the employer.
The Unemployment Insurance Agency Advocacy Program can offer help to employers and/or jobless workers in preparing for an Administrative Law Judge hearing on this issue. Call 1-8000-638-3994.
Can I collect benefits if I am laid off?
Usually, in Michigan you have become jobless through no fault of your own in order to collect unemployment. When you get laid-off, it is not your fault.
In almost all cases, this means that if you get laid-off, you are qualified to collect unemployment benefits.
If you get laid-off from your job, you should directly apply for unemployment benefits.
Getting laid-off doesn’t mean that you were fired or you did something wrong. Getting laid-off means that the company that you worked for did not have sufficient work for you to do, and could no longer afford to pay you to do your job.
Can a pregnant worker draw UI if she is placed on a leave of absence?
If a pregnant worker is placed on a obligatory maternity leave of absence she will not be denied unemployment benefits while on the leave, as long as she remains able to work during the leave.
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