Speaker Wentworth calls on Whitmer to remove UIA director

(The Center Square) – House Speaker Jason Wentworth, R-Clare, called on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to remove Unemployment Insurance Agency Director Liza Estlund Olson on Thursday.

“The simple truth is UIA isn’t getting the job done for Michigan families,” Wentworth said in a statement. “The people of this state need UIA’s help more than ever right now, and instead of rising to the challenge, they are letting us down over and over again. We have all waited long enough and given them more than enough chances, but it just isn’t getting any better. It is time for Gov. Whitmer to make a change and finally give people struggling with unemployment a fighting chance.”

The call for resignation follows a saga of screwups since March 2020, when Michiganders needed the safety net the most as the unemployment rate spiked to 22.7%. But the UIA delayed real claims for months while reportedly paying out fraudulent claims to people using the celebrity names of “Kimberly Kardashian” and “Kylie Jenner.”

In 2020, the agency paid out millions in fraudulent claims, delayed payments for months to tens of thousands of real Michigan residents, and allowed state employees to skip the line of residents and get expedited benefits. In total, the UIA has disbursed $38.3 billion since March 15, 2020.

Wentworth named recent mismanagement including:

UIA knowingly disbursed benefits to ineligible recipients but didn’t tell the nearly 700,000 people affected for six months, and then retroactively billed some up to $27,000.UIA failed a federal monitoring report last winter and has still not fixed the uncovered problems eight months later. Olson skipped the meeting with the auditors where UIA was informed of their failures.UIA’s software denied benefits to thousands of eligible people but renewed the same software anyway.UIA refused to hand over information regarding the back payment letters to the House Oversight Committee. The mistake was only brought to light when a third party gave the information to the Committee’s chair, Rep. Steve Johnson.UIA still has a backlog of 20,000 unpaid Michigan workers, 18 months into the pandemic and 10 months into Director Estlund Olson’s tenure.UIA waited 15 months to open any offices for in-person appointments, creating barriers for Michigan residents without reliable internet access and older workers trying to get help. To date, the agency has still only opened some of its offices for limited appointments statewide.

Olson took over after former Director Steve Gray’s resigned in Nov. 2020 after months of record claims. Gray received a confidentiality agreement and an $85,872 severance package.

Eric Ventimiglia, the executive director for the conservative Michigan Rising Action, called on Gray to return the severance package.

“It has been nearly six months and Steve Gray is still sitting on a pile of taxpayer cash. The former director needs to do the right thing and pay back the Governor’s hush money to the people of Michigan,” Ventimiglia said in a statement. “Acting Director Liza Olson’s letter telling people they may have to pay back some of their UIA benefits terrified over 600,000 Michigan families. Whitmer appointees are proving more and more disastrous as time goes on, and it is long past time for Liza Olson to step down.”

Wentworth agrees.

“Our families, friends and neighbors were put in a terrible position in this lockdown, and many of them are still desperate for help, but the UIA simply cannot or will not help them,” Wentworth said. “The stories I’ve heard from people in my community are absolutely heartbreaking, and I know we all know someone who shares the same struggles.”

Neither the UIA nor Whitmer’s office immediately responded to a request for comment. However, House Oversight Committee Chair Steve Johnson, R-Wayland, said Olson agreed to appear before the Oversight Committee on Thursday, Sept. 9 at 9 a.m.

“We plan to hear from Acting Director Olson on a number of issues related to Michigan’s unemployment system, especially since those issues have become more common in recent months,” Johnson said in a statement. “As the committee continues to fulfill its duty to investigate and hold government agencies accountable, it is important that committee members hear from the director.”

Disclaimer: This content is distributed by The Center Square