Family Corporations

• In some cases, Michigan persons who formerly worked for a corporation owned by family members may be eligible for unemployment benefits. However, the claimant must not own more than 50 percent of the business, nor can he together with his spouse and children own more than 50 percent of the business. If the claimant and his immediate family together own more than this percentage of the business, he may only receive unemployment for 7 1/2 weeks.
  
  

Worker Under Age 18

• If the worker is under the age of 18, the Michigan unemployment office looks at her parents' ownership of the business. Even if the worker herself does not own any of the business, if her parents own 50 percent or more of the business, she is only eligible for limited unemployment benefits. In addition, all other rules related to unemployment and business ownership apply to workers under the age of 18.
  
  

Disclosure Requirement

• Those who work for family owned corporations are only eligible for unemployment benefits if both they and their employers both fully disclose the relationship between employee and employer. If either party fails to disclose this relationship, it disqualifies the claimant from unemployment benefits even if he would ordinarily be entitled to either limited or full benefits, and even if the other party involved disclosed the nature of the relationship.
  
  

Other Types of Businesses

• If a Michigan employee owns any other type of business besides a family-owned corporation, she is not eligible for unemployment benefits as of June 2011. This includes persons who work for family-owned partnerships and sole proprietorships, as well as those who own their own businesses outside of their family members. Although some states have a self-employment assistance program to help unemployed business owners, Michigan does not have any such program as of June 2011.