The Michigan DHS-38 Verification of Employment form is a wage-verification document the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) sends to public assistance applicants and recipients so their employer can confirm income for Food Assistance (FAP), Medicaid, the Family Independence Program (FIP), Child Development and Care (CDC), and related programs. You sign the authorization section, hand the form to your employer to fill in wages, hours, and benefits, and return the completed form to MDHHS within ten calendar days of the date it was mailed to you.1Michigan Department of Health & Human Services. BAM 130 – Verification and Collateral Contacts
Where the Form Comes From
In most cases the form arrives in the mail from your caseworker, along with a pre-addressed envelope your employer can use to return it. The return deadline is already printed on it.
If you never received one, or the copy got lost, you have three ways to replace it. Download and print the PDF from the MDHHS forms library.2Michigan Department of Health & Human Services. DHS-38, Verification of Employment Pick one up at your local MDHHS county office. Or check your Verification Checklist inside MI Bridges, where the form or a link to it often appears alongside your case notices.
Your Part vs. the Employer’s Part
The applicant section is short. You provide your name, Social Security number, and case number, then sign the authorization that permits your employer to release wage and benefit information to MDHHS. Without that signature, your employer has no obligation to share your payroll data with a government agency.
Everything else is filled in by someone at your workplace with access to payroll records, typically a human resources representative, payroll administrator, or the business owner. An authorized representative of the employer signs and dates the form to certify the information. Get the form to that person the day you receive it, because the ten-day clock runs from the date MDHHS mailed you the Verification Checklist, not from the day you dropped it off in HR.
What the Employer Must Fill In
The employer’s portion covers four categories.
Pay history. For each pay date in the period the caseworker specifies, the employer lists the gross amount, meaning total earnings before taxes and deductions rather than the take-home figure. The form also asks for the hourly rate, average hours worked per week, and pay frequency (weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, or monthly). MDHHS uses gross income and pay frequency to project future household earnings, and that projection drives the benefit amount.3Michigan Department of Health & Human Services. BEM 500 – Income If you recently got a raise, started a new position, or had a gap in hours, ask the employer to note it in the comments. A caseworker reading four weeks of low hours has no way to know a promotion took effect last Monday unless someone writes it down.
Health insurance and benefits. A separate section asks whether you are enrolled in the employer’s health plan, which insurance contracts cover you, and whether a cafeteria-style benefit plan is available.2Michigan Department of Health & Human Services. DHS-38, Verification of Employment MDHHS uses this to determine whether you already have access to private coverage through work.
Disability and workers’ compensation. If you are off work due to injury or a medical condition and collecting benefits through the employer’s insurance carrier, those amounts belong in the disability section. Leaving the field blank when it applies stalls your case while the caseworker chases down the missing figure.
Employer identification. The employer provides its legal business name, address, phone number, and Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN). The phone number lets the caseworker follow up on inconsistencies, and the FEIN ties the business to tax records.
Before you send the form back, glance over the entries. Obvious problems like a blank pay date, a net figure entered where gross was requested, or a missing signature are easier to fix while the form is still in your hands.
The Ten-Day Deadline
For FIP, FAP, State Disability Assistance (SDA), CDC, and Medicaid, MDHHS allows ten calendar days from the date the verification request is mailed to return completed documents.1Michigan Department of Health & Human Services. BAM 130 – Verification and Collateral Contacts If day ten lands on a weekend or holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.4Michigan Department of Health & Human Services. BAM 210 – Redetermination/Ex Parte Review
Missing the deadline has real consequences. If ten days pass without a returned form or a reasonable effort on your part, MDHHS issues a negative action notice and can deny or close the case. The rules differ slightly by program. For Medicaid, a caseworker can extend the deadline up to two additional times if you show you tried but couldn’t get the information back in time. FAP applications do not get extensions; once the deadline passes, the case is denied. At FAP redetermination, you have until the last day of the redetermination month or ten days, whichever is later.1Michigan Department of Health & Human Services. BAM 130 – Verification and Collateral Contacts
How to Submit the Completed Form
Once the employer hands back the signed form, get it to MDHHS the same day if you can. The fastest option is uploading through MI Bridges: log in, use the document upload feature, and attach a photo or scan of the completed form to your case.5MI Bridges. Document Upload The mobile version works the same way, so you can photograph the form with your phone and upload it on the spot.6Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. MI Bridges Features
Without internet access, you can mail the form to the local MDHHS county office shown on your benefit paperwork, fax it to your caseworker’s number as printed on your notices, or drop it off in person at a regional service center. Write your case number on every page; that’s how mailroom staff route paperwork to the right file. Keep a photocopy, and if you fax, save the transmission confirmation.
Your employer can also mail the form directly to MDHHS using the pre-addressed envelope that came with the original packet. If HR wants to send it themselves, confirm they’ll do it promptly. The deadline doesn’t pause because the form is sitting on someone’s desk.
If Your Employer Won’t Complete the Form
The DHS-38 states that employers are required to provide the requested information, but that doesn’t guarantee cooperation on a ten-day clock. If your employer refuses or stalls, call your caseworker right away and explain the situation. Don’t wait until day nine.
MDHHS policy accepts alternative income verification when the standard form isn’t available. Pay stubs covering the relevant period, a letter from the employer, or electronic payroll records can all serve as proof of income.3Michigan Department of Health & Human Services. BEM 500 – Income The substitute documentation must confirm the gross amount, and if the caseworker doesn’t already know it, the pay frequency. Gather what you have (check stubs, direct deposit records, a screenshot from an employee payroll portal) and submit it along with a short note explaining that you attempted to get the DHS-38 completed.
Self-Employment
The DHS-38 is built for a traditional employer-employee relationship. If you are self-employed or work as an independent contractor, there is no employer to complete the employer section, and filling it in yourself won’t satisfy the verification requirement. Contact your caseworker to confirm which documents actually apply to your situation, which will typically be profit-and-loss statements, tax returns, bank statements, or business records showing gross receipts and allowable expenses.
Penalties for False Information
Michigan law imposes serious consequences for obtaining or attempting to obtain public assistance through false statements, misrepresentation, or fraud. Under MCL 400.60, penalties scale with the dollar amount involved:7Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 400.60
- $500 or less: misdemeanor.
- More than $500: felony.
The amount involved is the difference between what you were legally entitled to receive and what you actually received. Even when the state declines to prosecute, MDHHS can pursue recovery of the overpayment plus five percent annual interest.7Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 400.60 The same statute requires anyone receiving assistance to report changes in income, employment offers, and household circumstances on an ongoing basis, not only at application or renewal. Inflating hours, understating wages, or asking an employer to falsify the DHS-38 exposes both you and the person who signed the form to legal risk.