You can get unemployment if you’re fired in Michigan, as long as the firing wasn’t for misconduct connected to your work. Being let go for poor performance, not meeting quotas, or simply not fitting the role generally keeps you eligible. Being fired for deliberate rule-breaking generally does not. For claims starting January 1, 2026, qualified workers can receive up to $530 per week for up to 26 weeks.1Michigan Labor and Economic Opportunity. Unemployment Weekly Benefit Rate Increases Jan. 1, 20262Michigan Labor and Economic Opportunity. Increased Unemployment Benefits and Added Weeks Go Into Effect April 2
What Michigan Counts as Misconduct
Everything turns on this word. Under Michigan’s Employment Security Act, a worker “discharged for misconduct connected with the individual’s work” is disqualified from benefits.3Michigan Legislature. MCL 421-29 The statute doesn’t lay out a full definition, but Michigan courts have read it to mean deliberate or willful violations of an employer’s reasonable standards.
Typical examples include theft, insubordination, showing up intoxicated, or failing a fairly administered workplace drug test.3Michigan Legislature. MCL 421-29 Repeated, willful violations of a clearly communicated policy can also qualify, particularly an attendance policy you knew about and chose to ignore.
Poor performance is a different category. If you couldn’t keep up with the job’s demands despite genuine effort, that isn’t misconduct, and the Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) generally will not treat it as such. The same is true when an employer decides you weren’t the right fit.
The distinction has real weight because of what a misconduct finding does to your claim. It isn’t a short suspension. You have to complete requalifying weeks by earning wages at a new job before any benefits can be paid — 13 or 26 requalifying weeks depending on the type of misconduct.3Michigan Legislature. MCL 421-29
Do You Have Enough Work History to Qualify
Even a firing without misconduct only opens the door. You still need recent wages. The UIA looks at your base period, which is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you file. You need wages in at least two of those quarters.
For benefit years beginning January 1, 2026, you must have earned at least $5,328 in your highest-paid quarter, and your total wages across the base period must equal at least 1.5 times that highest quarter. If the standard calculation doesn’t work for you, Michigan offers an Alternate Earnings Qualifier based on 20 times the statewide average weekly wage, which is $26,677.60 for 2026.4Michigan Labor and Economic Opportunity. Eligibility Requirements
How Much and How Long
Your weekly benefit is based on your wages during the base period, with the top rate capped at $530 as of January 1, 2026.1Michigan Labor and Economic Opportunity. Unemployment Weekly Benefit Rate Increases Jan. 1, 2026 Regular benefits run for a maximum of 26 weeks.2Michigan Labor and Economic Opportunity. Increased Unemployment Benefits and Added Weeks Go Into Effect April 2
Expect at least a 10-day hold after the UIA issues your Monetary Determination — the notice confirming eligibility and your benefit amount — before any payment can arrive. Ten days is the earliest, not a guarantee.5Michigan Labor and Economic Opportunity. Qualification and Eligibility
Filing the Claim
Michigan runs claims through the MiWAM portal, accessed with a MiLogin account. That’s the same login used for other state services like the Secretary of State. If you already have one, use it. Duplicate accounts cause delays.6Michigan Labor and Economic Opportunity. Claimant Roadmap
Have these ready before you start:
- Your driver’s license or state ID, Social Security number, and bank details for direct deposit
- For every employer in the last 18 months: the corporation name and address (which may differ from the business name) and the employer’s tax ID number (EIN/FEIN), which you can find on a pay stub or W-2
- Your first and last day worked at each employer, pay rate and frequency including tips and bonuses, and the reason each job ended6Michigan Labor and Economic Opportunity. Claimant Roadmap
The separation reason you give will be compared with what your employer reports. Be accurate. Misrepresenting why you were fired is one of the paths that leads to a fraud finding later.
Keeping Benefits After You File
Filing is the start. To keep receiving payments, you certify every two weeks that you’re available for work and actively looking. Michigan requires at least one valid work search activity for each week you certify.7Michigan Labor and Economic Opportunity. Work Search
Applying to a posted job in person or online counts. So does creating a profile on a site like MiTalent.org, attending a job fair, or participating in an employment workshop. Save the confirmation pages, email receipts, and screenshots. Browsing job boards without applying does not count, and neither does reapplying to the same position within a four-week window.7Michigan Labor and Economic Opportunity. Work Search
You also have to accept suitable work if it’s offered. Federal guidelines require the wages, hours, and conditions to be reasonably comparable to what’s standard in your area for similar positions, so you can turn down offers well below the local going rate without losing benefits.
Part-time work is allowed while you collect. If your gross earnings in a week exceed 1.5 times your weekly benefit amount, you get nothing that week.5Michigan Labor and Economic Opportunity. Qualification and Eligibility Below that threshold, part-time earnings reduce your benefit but don’t eliminate it. Report every dollar on your certification. Unreported income is one of the most common triggers for a fraud investigation.
How Severance Pay Changes the Picture
A severance package will usually reduce or delay your benefits. Michigan treats severance as remuneration and allocates it to specific weeks. If the amount allocated to a week equals or exceeds 1.5 times your weekly benefit, you receive no unemployment that week.8Michigan Labor and Economic Opportunity. Fact Sheet 125 – How Severance Pay Affects Unemployment Benefits
How the money is structured decides the timing:
- A lump sum that the employer allocates across specific weeks reduces benefits during those weeks.
- A lump sum with no allocation to specific weeks only reduces benefits in the single week the payment is made.
- Salary continuation paid weekly or monthly reduces benefits in each week it’s received, and you may not be eligible for unemployment until the final installment is paid.8Michigan Labor and Economic Opportunity. Fact Sheet 125 – How Severance Pay Affects Unemployment Benefits
If you’re negotiating an exit, the structure matters as much as the number. Six months of salary continuation pushes your unemployment eligibility out by roughly six months. A lump sum without week-by-week allocation limits the effect to one week.
When the Employer Contests Your Claim
Filing puts your former employer on notice, and they can push back. The most common argument is that the firing was misconduct. Employers typically submit documented warnings, written policies you allegedly broke, and witness statements.
The UIA runs a fact-finding process where both sides provide evidence. Documentation drives the outcome. If your employer says you were fired for repeated tardiness but your absences were health-related and communicated to your supervisor, medical records and messages change the analysis. If insubordination is the claim but the employer can’t produce the policy you supposedly violated, their position weakens.
Some employers will argue you quit rather than being fired, because voluntary resignation without good cause tied to the employer is also disqualifying. Good cause generally requires something like unsafe conditions or major unapproved changes to your job terms. Keep any emails, texts, or documents that show what actually happened at separation.
If Your Claim Is Denied
A denial isn’t final. File a written protest with the UIA within 30 days of the date on your denial notice, and include a clear explanation of why the decision was wrong along with supporting documents.9Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency. How the Appeal Process Works
If the protest doesn’t resolve the issue, you can request a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge, where both sides present evidence and can call witnesses. From there, further appeals go to the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Appeals Commission and ultimately to state circuit court.10Michigan Labor and Economic Opportunity. Welcome to the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Commission9Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency. How the Appeal Process Works Each level has its own deadline. Read every notice carefully.
A Word on Fraud
Providing false information — the wrong reason for your firing, hidden part-time income, unreported severance — carries real consequences. Michigan can recover the overpaid amount and assess damages up to two times that amount for fraud under $500, and up to four times the fraudulent amount for $500 or more. Criminal penalties, including imprisonment, apply once the fraudulent amount reaches $1,000.11Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 421.54c – Employment Security The UIA cross-references claims against employer records and government databases, so discrepancies tend to surface.
Taxes on What You Receive
Unemployment benefits are taxable income at the federal level. Under federal law, unemployment compensation counts as gross income and has to be reported on your tax return.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 85 – Unemployment Compensation You’ll receive a 1099-G showing the year’s total. Through MiWAM you can elect to have 10% of each payment withheld for federal tax; whether that’s enough depends on your other income, and estimated payments may be worth considering.