Will Californians be forced to repay federal unemployment payments? The state is pushing back
Some Californians may not have to repay questionable federal unemployment benefits after all.
The state Employment Development Department Wednesday joined other states in asking the federal government to waive the requirement that people pay back unemployment money they may not have been eligible to receive – as long as the claimant is not at fault and there’s no fraud involved..
More than a million California residents were notified in November that they had to prove they were qualified to get the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance in 2020 and 2021.. As of last month, only about 20% had responded.
PUA was the federal program created during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide help for people who had been employed in jobs that traditionally did not qualify for regular benefits.
The program, though, became riddled with fraud, and estimates are that in California, about $20 billion in federal money may have been lost.
“California is asking the federal government to waive overpayments for those who received federal benefits through no fault of their own,” EDD Director Nancy Farias said Wednesday. “We need to continue supporting those who struggled during this pandemic.”
Federal law says people who got benefits and were ineligible have to return the money. A state can waive the payment if the claimant was not at fault.
But EDD officials said Wednesday that determining fault remains challenging. They noted the complexity of the emergency federal programs and their multiple changes and extensions.
For instance, some people weren’t sure if verifying income meant supplying their gross or net income.
EDD has been notifying people who have to submit the information by sending texts, emails and by using the unemployment insurance online homepage to notify claimants.
The agency said it’s aware that people may not be checking their UI Online accounts or may have missed emails, so If someone doesn’t respond by a due date, they’ll get a follow-up notice in the mail.
This story was originally published February 2, 2022 at 12:27 PM.
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