LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has named a new acting director of the state’s Unemployment Insurance Agency after the previous director resigned.
Liza Estlund Olson will serve as acting director starting immediately, a news release said Thursday.
Whitmer did not say why former UIA Director Steve Gray resigned.
Olson previously served as acting director of the agency from 2007 to 2008.
“The administration is committed to providing crucial unemployment benefits to support Michigan’s working families as our state battles COVID-19,” said Trish Foster, Whitmer’s chief operating officer. “As director of the Office of the State Employer, Liza has proven time and again that she will do everything in her power to protect Michigan workers. Ensuring Michiganders across the state have the unemployment benefits they need has always taken and will continue to take hard work.”
Olson said that it’s more important than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure unemployment benefits for those who have lost work as a result.
