A group of Michigan lawmakers, including state Representative Joey Andrews has announced a new package of legislation intended to protect unemployment benefits and expand unemployment rights.

The House Labor Caucus on Thursday unveiled eight bills that Andrews says will be needed amid current economic trends.

“Everything from adjusting the way that the unemployment rates are garnishments and the minimum percentages that are taken off, all the way down to how we classify workers,” Andrews said.

The bill from Andrews would implement the “ABC Test” at the Unemployment Insurance Agency. The test is used in states like California to better determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor.

“Presently, a lot of employers will use independent contractor status as a way to sort of bypass having to pay benefits and by proxy keeps the employee from being able to collect other benefits. So, using the ABC test, which other states have already adopted, makes it a lot easier for us to know who is actually an independent contractor and who is not.”

Other bills in the package would restore a previously-used formula that allows workers on unemployment to take part-time employment, require Unemployment Insurance Agency correspondence to be written in a clear manner, and require an appeals process.

Andrews says in recent months, the nation has shed 78,000 manufacturing jobs while Michigan is in the top 5 in the country for unemployment.