Reporting Employees Who Refuse to Return to Work
The Michigan Employment Security Act, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, and the Continued Assistance Act (CAA) require individuals collecting unemployment insurance benefits to be available for suitable work and to accept an offer of suitable work.
In situations where an employer makes a bona fide offer of work to an employee or asks them to return to their customary employment, the employee may lose unemployment benefits if they refuse to return to suitable work without good cause.
Both employers and employees have an obligation to report offers and refusals of suitable work to the Michigan Unemployment Agency (UIA). Employees should notify UIA during their biweekly certification if they have refused an offer of work. If an employee refuses an offer of suitable work, the employer can notify the UIA in one of the following ways:
- A new “Return to Work” link will be available in MiWAM to report a claimant’s “Refusal to Return to Work.” Visit www.michigan.gov/uia and log into your MiWAM account.
- A new “Report Refusal of Offer to Work/Return to Work” link will also be available on the UIA Home Page at www.michigan.gov/uia.
The UIA requests that employers submit correspondence online due to high call volume. For more information, please refer to the following UIA Fact Sheets:
- How to report, or submit a protest of, an employee’s refusal to work: Fact Sheet # 144C COVID-19 Unemployment Compensation Benefits Returning to Work and Refusal to Work – Information for Employers
- What is suitable work and good cause to refuse work situations: Fact Sheet #145C COVID-19 Unemployment Benefits – What is Suitable Work
If you have questions, visit www.michigan.gov/uia for tools, resources and UIA contact information.