Michigan Employer Advisor: April 2025

Businesses must verify visa status of employees during UIA field audits

What is an employer field audit?

Audits of Michigan employers help support the Unemployment Insurance (UI) Tax Program by verifying an employer is following the Michigan Employment Security Act (MES Act) and Administrative Rules.

Reasons why audits are important:

• To ensure wages are properly reported by the employer to the UIA.
• To determine whether workers are misclassified as employees or independent contractors and look for hidden or unreported wages.
• To educate the employer community about how to comply with state and federal laws.

 

Some businesses in Michigan rely on foreign workers who have specific eligibility criteria to meet before they can receive unemployment benefits if they lose their jobs.

If a business has been chosen to participate in an employer field audit by the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA), documentation must be provided to prove a worker’s status.

Most foreign workers have either a J-1, H2B or H2A visa.

For an individual with a J-1 visa, employers need to show the unexpired visa and a DS-2019 Form to the auditor. The DS-2019 should have the employer’s name in the designated J-1 category. 

Employers are not required to pay state unemployment taxes on excluded services performed by those holding a J-1 Visa, such as international visitor, government visitor, camp counselor, au pair, and summer work travel. Documentation must be saved for six years and provided upon request.

An H-2A visa is used for temporary or seasonal agricultural workers. Certification is valid for up to 364 days. An H-2B visa is used by temporary non-agricultural workers when U.S. workers are not available.

For individuals with an H-2A and H-2B visa, an unexpired visa and I-797 forms must be available to an auditor, with the current employer listed. Be aware that the I-797 form has six related forms, I-797A-F. Only versions C and E are not accepted by an auditor.

For more information, visit the UIA's Employer Field Audit page. 

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Submit affidavit to report missing worker Social Security numbers

There are times when an employer may not have that information for a misclassified worker or casual laborer.

• Interest will accrue on unpaid tax principal at the rate of 1 percent per month, computed daily.
• A Late Tax Report penalty of 10 percent of the tax due (minimum of $5 and a maximum of $25) will be charged when Quarterly Wage/Tax Report(s) are filed after the due date.
• A $50 wage penalty will be charged to an employer's account.
• An additional $250 wage penalty is charged for each subsequent quarter that the Quarterly Wage/Tax Report is not filed.

• An employee’s affidavit must contain the following information:
• The person’s legal name, and whether the employee has an SSN.
• Whether the person has applied for an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN).
• The name of the employer.
• Dates the employee worked for the employer.
• A statement as to whether the worker completed a state and federal W-4.

• The name of the employer.
• The name and title of the person completing the affidavit.
• The employer’s UIA account number.
• Dates the person worked for the employer.
• The name(s) of the affected employee(s) listed on the Form UIA 1107.
• A statement that the employer has reviewed the W-4s for each employee identified and is unable to locate an SSN or ITIN and has exhausted good faith efforts to identify the SSN or ITIN for each worker.

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Transition to MiUI system will require some use of MiWAM during rollout

Later this year, the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) will replace its current computer system with a new one that is user-friendly, modern, and will ease wage and tax reporting.

The new system is called MiUI and employers, third-party administrators (TPAs), and external partners will see significant changes in how they interact with UIA.

MiUI will replace the current, decade-old Michigan Web Account Manager (MiWAM) system in two phases. The tax part of MiUI used by employers and TPAs will launch first, with the benefits part launching in 2026. For a period of time, employers and TPAs will perform duties in MiUI and MiWAM.

UIA will provide detailed information to help users navigate the transition between the two systems. Both systems will be used to provide alerts and updates throughout this interim period, ensuring clear communication about roles and responsibilities.

A helpful tip is to keep all your MiWAM bookmarks handy until MiUI is fully launched. That way you can easily navigate to the MiWAM screens needed to provide benefit information for employees.  UIA appreciates your adaptability during this transition. Stay tuned for updates in upcoming communications.

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Sign up for an upcoming Employer Seminar that best fits your schedule

May 14   July 16   Sept. 17   Nov. 19

The next Employer Seminar is coming up in May! The UIA's Tax and Employer Services Division hosts these programs to help employers and third-party administrators understand their roles in Michigan's unemployment insurance program.

Scan the QR Code below or go to the Employer Homepage at Michigan.gov/UIA for a link to sign up for an upcoming seminar on a date that works best for you.

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Employers urged to participate in LEO's Career Navigation pulse survey

The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) is launching an effort to establish a career navigation strategy to help job seekers across Michigan find job opportunities and to support businesses in filling talent gaps.

As part of this initiative, LEO is looking for employers across Michigan -- small, medium, and large companies, based off number of employees -- to participate in a 5-minute pulse survey. The objective of the survey is to understand awareness of career navigation services, specifically Michigan Works! and community colleges, as well as interactions with these services to recruit, train and retain talent.

The survey will gauge employer experience with career navigation services and provide an opportunity to share ideas on how these services could be improved. The survey will close on Monday, April 28.

 

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Now you can easily find past issues of the Michigan Employer Advisor

The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) has created an easier way to access past issues of its monthly newsletter for employers.
The Michigan Employer Advisor blog is designed to offer a user-friendly experience to find content from earlier issues.
New features of the blog include a homepage created with human-centered design principles and three important ways to find information:

• Topic filters let users search for UIA specific content.
• Date range filtering allows users to narrow content down to a specific time frame.
• A search bar found at top of homepage allows users to navigate and search for specific blog topics. 

We Want to Hear from You

If you want to suggest an article or topic for a future edition of the Employer Advisor newsletter, or just want to tell us how much you enjoy reading it, please send a message to UIA-EmployerAdvisor@Michigan.gov.

You can find past issues of the newsletter on the Employer Homepage at Michigan.gov/UIA.