LANSING, Mich. – Liza Estlund Olson, the acting director of Michigan’s Unemployment Insurance Agency, appeared before the House Oversight Committee Thursday morning.
Prior Coverage: Michigan lawmakers call for change as frustration grows over unemployment system
The hearing focused on a number of issues related to the unemployment system during the pandemic. There is still a lot of anger and frustration with the department.
Olson took over as director last fall after the prior head had resigned after the number of claims caused the system to fail. An estimated 5.3 million claims were filed in Michigan. About 2.4 million of those claims were paid.
During the hearing, Olson said the UIA is looking for funding to update its computer system. Olson said the system was supposed to be replaced before the pandemic and the department didn’t want to change the system during the pandemic.