The UIA said a "top to bottom" review has been completed of its own computer program - MiDAS, the Michigan Data Automated System - which spit out fraud accusations in 62,784 cases during a period from October 2013 to August 2015. The cases involved 49,910 people. The review reversed 85 percent of the fraud accusations.

Michigan House Democrats, who led the charge against getting the fraud findings reversed, said there was ultimately "little transparency" in how the UIA arrived at the $20.8 million figure. Dems also said that while the fund will pay for penalties and interest, the refunds will not include additional costs incurred by families, such as late payment penalties and court charges.

"Hardworking Michiganders who lost their jobs saw their hardship compounded when their state falsely accused them of lying about it," said House Minority Leader Sam Singh (D-East Lansing). "Many of them were slapped with fines and penalties. These families had to go to court to seek justice, and the state fought them every step of the way. The small step taken today to rectify this issue is not nearly enough to make everyone impacted by this fiasco whole."

A statement by the House Democrats said many families accused of fraud were unable to make rent or car payments, had their homes foreclosed or were forced into bankruptcy because of the false fraud accusations, and the refunds that were announced will fail to make those families whole.

The UIA's MiDAS computer system made the fraud determinations without any human oversight, and the jobless claimant victims said there was virtually no recourse in fighting the accusations. Gov. Rick Snyder changed leadership at the agency, which falls under the state's Talent Investment Agency.

“We took action after a hard look at every aspect of Unemployment Insurance, fixing the problems with guidance from national experts, people who use our system and our own staff who work with our residents each day,” said Talent Investment Agency Director Wanda Stokes. 

“Our top priority is helping our state residents, making sure they are treated fairly and get the benefits they need during a stressful time. Our initial focus was on a painstaking review of all the cases in question so we have the clearest picture of what we have to do to make things right and restore public trust in the system.”

Congressman Sander Levin (D-Royal Oak) called for a full review after the UIA's initial review found a 93 percent error rate.

“It’s time to make this right,” said Ron Bieber, president of the Michigan AFL-CIO. “What happened to these people is absolutely tragic. 

Lives were literally ruined by the Snyder administration’s mistake. While this refund is a good step in the right direction, it’s just not enough to repair the damage. The state has an obligation to repay every single penny they stole from these workers."