Amendment #125 to H3900

Non-Fault Unemployment Insurance Overpayment Waiver Relief

Ms. Meschino of Hull moves to amend the bill by adding the following section:

SECTION XXXX. Section 69 of chapter 151A of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out subsection (c), as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, at lines 22 through 26, and inserting in place thereof the following:-

(c) Waiver of Non-Fault Overpayments:

(i) The commissioner shall waive recovery of an overpayment of benefits, including dependency allowances, paid pursuant to chapter 151A of the General Laws to an individual who, in the judgment of the commissioner, is without fault.

(ii) The commissioner shall waive recovery of an overpayment of benefits, including dependency allowances, paid through the Department of Unemployment Assistance pursuant to any other state or federal law which authorizes the Department to waive recovery of overpayments and to the extent permitted by any standards and consistent with any procedures which may be established by the law under which the benefit payments are made, to an individual who, in the judgment of the commissioner, is without fault.

(iii) For any overpayment of benefits which cannot be waived pursuant to subsection (c)(i) or (c)(ii), the commissioner shall waive recovery of the overpayment of benefits, including dependency allowances, paid pursuant to chapter 151A of the General Laws or through the Department of Unemployment Assistance pursuant to any other state or federal law which authorizes the Department to waive recovery of overpayments and to the extent permitted by any standards and consistent with any procedures which may be established by the law under which the benefit payments are made, to an individual who, in the judgment of the commissioner, is without fault and where, in the judgment of the commissioner, such recovery would defeat the purpose of benefits otherwise authorized or would be against equity and good conscience.

(iv) Any person aggrieved by a determination or decision of the commissioner that recovery of an overpayment not be waived shall have the right to appeal such determination or decision in accordance with the provisions set forth in sections thirty-nine to forty-two, inclusive.

(v) The commissioner shall provide multilingual notice of the availability of the overpayment waiver standards and process described in this subsection to all individuals overpaid benefits paid under chapter 151A or through the Department of Unemployment Assistance pursuant to any other state or federal law which authorizes the Department to waive recovery of overpayments, as required by subsection (c)(iii) of section 62A of chapter 151A.

SECTION XXXX.  Section 69B of chapter 151A of the General Laws, is hereby amended by striking the sentence, as so appearing, at lines 1 through 9, and inserting in place thereof the following:-

In addition to any other remedy provided by this chapter, the commissioner may request that the amount payable to the department by an individual resulting from an overpayment of unemployment benefits which has become final as specified in 430 CMR 6.12 be set off against any refund owed such individual by the department of revenue if and only if the commissioner has determined that the individual was at fault for the overpayment to be set off in a decision which has become final as specified in section 69D of chapter 151A of the General Laws; provided, however, that such individual is notified of the intention to request a set off of the amount owed and the right to apply to the commissioner for a review of such intention.

SECTION XXXX.  Section 69B of chapter 151A of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking the sentence, as so appearing, in lines 25 through 31 and inserting in place thereof the following:-

In addition to any other remedy provided by this chapter, the commissioner may request that the amount payable to the department by an individual resulting from an overpayment of unemployment benefits which has become final as specified in 430 CMR 6.12 be set off against any federal tax refund payment owed such individual by the United States Department of Treasury in accordance with the requirements of the treasury offset program pursuant to section 14Q if and only if the commissioner has determined that the individual was at fault for the overpayment to be set off in a decision which has become final as specified in section 69D of chapter 151A of the General Laws or if such set off is otherwise required by the treasury offset program.

SECTION XXXX.  Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, with respect to overpayments of benefits corresponding to weeks ending in 2020 and 2021, including benefits under chapter 151A, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, Federal Extended Benefits, Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, Lost Wages Assistance, and Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation, for which the individual was not at fault and which are not required to be set off pursuant to the Treasury Offset Program of the United States Department of Treasury, the Department of Unemployment Assistance shall return to individuals all amounts collected pursuant to Section 69B of chapter 151A of the General Laws.

Additional co-sponsor(s) added to Amendment #125 to H3900

Non-Fault Unemployment Insurance Overpayment Waiver Relief