1. (1) Penalties Cannot be Modified.

   The Department has no authority to reduce or otherwise change the period of disqualification or the monetary penalties imposed by statute. The Department cannot exercise repayment discretion for fraud overpayments and these amounts are subject to all collection procedures.

2. (2) Week of Fraud.

   1. (a) A "week of fraud" means each week any unemployment insurance benefits were received due to fraud. The only exception is if the fraud occurred during the waiting week causing the next eligible week to become the new waiting week. In that case, the new waiting week will not be considered a week of fraud for disqualification purposes. Because the new waiting week is a non-payable week, any unemployment insurance benefits received during that week will be assessed as an overpayment and because the overpayment was a result of fraud, a fraud penalty will also be assessed.
   2. (b) If a claimant commits a fraudulent act during one week, and unemployment insurance benefits are paid in later weeks which would not have been paid but for the original fraud, each week for which unemployment insurance benefits were paid is a week of fraud subject to an overpayment, a penalty, and a disqualification period.
   3. (c) If the only week of fraud was the waiting week and no unemployment insurance benefits payments were made, there will be no disqualification period.

3. (3) Disqualification Period.

   1. (a) The claimant is ineligible for unemployment insurance benefits for a period of 13 weeks for the first week of fraud. For each additional week of fraud, the claimant will be ineligible for unemployment insurance benefits for an additional six weeks. The total number of weeks of disqualification will not exceed 49 weeks for each fraud determination. The Department will issue a fraud determination on all weeks of fraud of which the Department is aware at the time of the determination.
   2. (b) The disqualification period begins the Sunday of the week the fraud determination is made.

4. (4) Overpayment and Penalty.

   1. (a) For any fraud decision where the initial fraud determination was issued on or before June 30, 2004, the claimant shall repay to the division an overpayment which is equal to the amount of the unemployment benefits actually received. In addition, a claimant shall be required to repay, as a civil penalty, the amount of unemployment insurance benefits received as a direct result of fraud. "Unemployment insurance benefits actually received" means the unemployment insurance benefits paid or constructively paid by the Department. "Constructively paid" refers to unemployment insurance benefits used to reduce or offset an overpayment, deducted at the request of the claimant to pay income taxes, or used as a payment to the Office of Recovery Services for child support obligations or other payments as required by law.
   2. (b) For fraud decisions where the initial Department determination is issued on or after July 1, 2004, the claimant shall repay to the division the overpayment and, as a civil penalty, an amount equal to the overpayment. The overpayment described in this subsection is the amount of unemployment insurance benefits the claimant received by direct reason of fraud.
5. (5) Criminal prosecution of fraud may be pursued as provided by Subsection 35A-4-104(1) in addition to the administrative penalties.

KEY: overpayments, unemployment compensation

Date of Last Change: March 31, 2022

Notice of Continuation: May 2, 2022

Authorizing, and Implemented or Interpreted Law: 35A-4-406(2); 35A-4-406(3); 35A-4-406(4); 35A-4-406(5)