Latest news with #BrockSwartzle
11-07-2025
- Politics
Judge rejects a challenge to Michigan's decades-long ban on publicly funded abortions
DETROIT -- A judge has rejected a challenge to Michigan's longtime ban on taxpayer-funded abortions for low-income residents, saying a group that brought the lawsuit had no standing to file it. Michigan voters in 2022 approved a sweeping constitutional amendment ensuring a right to abortion. But a ban on most taxpayer-funded abortions has been in place for decades, no matter which political party has controlled the Legislature or the governor's office. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of YWCA Kalamazoo, which pays for abortions sought by women in southwestern Michigan. The group says more than 75% have incomes that would qualify them for state support if Medicaid-funded abortions were allowed. Judge Brock Swartzle of the Michigan Court of Claims dismissed the lawsuit on July 3, saying YWCA Kalamazoo was the wrong party to bring a challenge. 'The YWCA is not an individual and it, as a nonprofit organization, does not have reproductive freedom,' the judge said in an 18-page opinion. 'Further, the YWCA does not provide abortion care and is not directly affected by a law that denies funding for abortions.' Michigan's Medicaid program only pays for abortions to save a woman's life or to end pregnancies resulting from rape or incest. Abortion and related services are available through Medicaid in 17 states, according to the American Civil Liberties Union and the law firm Goodwin Procter, which both represent YWCA Kalamazoo.
Winnipeg Free Press
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Judge rejects a challenge to Michigan's decades-long ban on publicly funded abortions
DETROIT (AP) — A judge has rejected a challenge to Michigan's longtime ban on taxpayer-funded abortions for low-income residents, saying a group that brought the lawsuit had no standing to file it. Michigan voters in 2022 approved a sweeping constitutional amendment ensuring a right to abortion. But a ban on most taxpayer-funded abortions has been in place for decades, no matter which political party has controlled the Legislature or the governor's office. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of YWCA Kalamazoo, which pays for abortions sought by women in southwestern Michigan. The group says more than 75% have incomes that would qualify them for state support if Medicaid-funded abortions were allowed. Judge Brock Swartzle of the Michigan Court of Claims dismissed the lawsuit on July 3, saying YWCA Kalamazoo was the wrong party to bring a challenge. 'The YWCA is not an individual and it, as a nonprofit organization, does not have reproductive freedom,' the judge said in an 18-page opinion. 'Further, the YWCA does not provide abortion care and is not directly affected by a law that denies funding for abortions.' Michigan's Medicaid program only pays for abortions to save a woman's life or to end pregnancies resulting from rape or incest. Abortion and related services are available through Medicaid in 17 states, according to the American Civil Liberties Union and the law firm Goodwin Procter, which both represent YWCA Kalamazoo. A request for comment from the ACLU was not immediately answered Thursday.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Approval of $55M Michigan class-action lawsuit involving unemployment payments delayed a month
The Brief A judge has delayed the final hearing to approve a $55 million class-action lawsuit dealing with unemployment benefits paid out to residents About 23,000 Michigan residents can expect on average of a $1,400 settlement from the case Affected parties include those who protested the state clawing back benefits it believed it improperly paid out without determining if individuals properly filed an appeal (FOX 2) - A judge has delayed the final hearing to sign off on a $55 million settlement tied to the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency's improper clawing back of pandemic-era funds paid out to citizens. Tens of thousands of Michigan residents were impacted by the UIA's decision and will have to wait a month before the class-action lawsuit's settlement is approved. Big picture view More than 23,000 Michigan residents who applied for unemployment benefits due to the Covid pandemic were wrongly asked by the labor department agency to repay the funds. The UIA failed to determine whether the claimant who protested the decision to pay back money had submitted the appeal correctly - or at all. As part of a settlement tied to the class-action lawsuit, Saunders V Unemployment Ins. Agency, the state will not admit responsibility for the case. In exchange, those part of the lawsuit will receive on average $1,400 from the state. Judge Brock Swartzle from the Michigan Court of Claims will decide when the money should be sent to plaintiffs in the case. The backstory At the onset of the pandemic in 2020, public health measures that ordered businesses closed in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19 led to a surge in unemployment in Michigan. As hundreds of thousands of workers were sent home, the UIA saw a surge in claims for unemployment benefits, overwhelming the agency and leading to millions of dollars being wrongly paid out. Over the following months, the UIA attempted to retrieve some of the wrongly-paid-out funds - sometimes doing so without determining whether appeals from beneficiaries had been properly submitted. Where things stand The deadline for residents to join the lawsuit has passed. As of Dec. 20, 2024, an independent claims administrator is no longer accepting new participants. Judge Swartzle has scheduled the final hearing to approve the settlement for April 24, 2025 at 1 p.m. Anyone past of the lawsuit can attend the hearing either virtually or in-person to address their concerns. The hearing will take place at the Michigan Court of Appeals courtroom at 925 W. Ottawa Street in Lansing. The Source Previous reporting and a press release from the Unemployment Insurance Agency.
