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HB 5002

Relating to the financial administration of the Oregon Department of Administrative Services; and declaring an emergency.

2025 Regular Session

Michigan HB 5002 requires the unemployment agency to use plain language in all benefit and tax notices, standardize determinations, and provide online receipt confirmations.

Chapter 517, (2025 Laws): Effective date July 17, 2025.
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Bill Summary · HB 5002

Summary — HB 5002 (Michigan Employment Security Act amendments)

Status (key dates)
- Introduced: March 13, 2025 (Rep. Mentzer listed as sponsor on a September 18, 2025 reproduction)
- House passage with amendments: May 27, 2025
- Senate concurrence with House amendments: May 30, 2025
- Transmitted to Governor: June 5 / June 9, 2025 (records list both)
- Vetoed by Governor: June 23, 2025
- Bill electronically reproduced and referred to Committee on Economic Competitiveness: September 18, 2025

Purpose
- Require the Michigan unemployment insurance agency to use plain language in communications, determinations, and certain documents so that claimants and employers can more readily understand actions affecting benefits and taxes. The bill also standardizes and expands the content required in determinations, redeterminations, and denial/modification notices and requires certain online receipt confirmations.

Key provisions
1. Plain language mandate (amends Sec. 2)
- The agency must use “plain language” in all communications (print, electronic, other) related to employer taxes/reimbursing charges and individual benefits.
- “Plain language” is defined as: clear and concise; avoids complex vocabulary and contradictory statements; based on a fourth-grade reading level.

  1. Internet notification and receipt tracking (amends Sec. 32b)

    • Agency must provide a secure website allowing employers to confirm whether submitted correspondence was received.
    • Within 10 days of receiving a protest or appeal from an employer/employing unit, the agency must post a receipt confirmation on that site.

  2. Submission rules and defects (amends Sec. 32b)

    • Protests/appeals must be signed or verified as prescribed by administrative rule and may be transmitted by mail, fax, or other electronic methods approved by the agency.
    • If a submission is unsigned or unverified, the agency must notify the sender of the defect preventing acceptance.

  3. Content requirements for determinations/redeterminations (amends Sec. 32b)

    • Each determination/redetermination must include:
      • A clear, factual reason with particularized facts specific to the claim.
      • A summary of appeal rights and deadlines (refers to Sec. 32a).
      • A summary of the right to request reconsideration.
      • A summary list of all determinations/redeterminations related to the claim with outcome, issuance date, and appeal/reconsideration deadlines.
    • The agency must consolidate all determinations or all redeterminations related to a given issue into a single determination/redetermination.

  4. Notice requirements for denials/changes (adds Sec. 32e)

    • Notifications of denial, modification, or cessation must include:
      • A clear statement of reason with particularized factual support.
      • The legal basis for the action.
      • Applicable appeal rights.

Who is affected
- Claimants (unemployed individuals) — clearer reasons for benefit decisions, consolidated notices, explicit appeal/reconsideration information.
- Employers/employing units — receipt confirmations for protests/appeals; plain-language notices affecting taxes/reimbursing charges.
- Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency — must revise templates, online systems, and possibly staff procedures; may need rule updates to specify verification/signature methods.

Implementation and potential impacts
- Administrative changes: revising forms and notices to 4th-grade reading level, website development to display receipt confirmations, and consolidation logic for determinations.
- Possible training and rulemaking: the bill references administrative rules for signature/verification methods and ties to existing appeal timelines (Sec. 32a).
- Consumer clarity: intended to reduce confusion and procedural errors by claimants and employers; may reduce inadvertent forfeiture of rights due to unclear notices.
- No explicit fiscal appropriation in the bill text; implementation could require modest IT and staff resources.

Note on legislative history
- The legislative action record shows passage in both chambers in May 2025 and transmittal to the Governor in June 2025, with a veto recorded June 23, 2025. The bill text was electronically reproduced and reintroduced on September 18, 2025.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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