Workforce Services, Department of

Unemployment Insurance

Effective Date: 04/25/2014 to Current

Rule Type: Current Rules & Regulations

Reference Number: 053.0018.26.04252014

CHAPTER 26

IMPLEMENTATION OF CRITERIA FOR WAIVER OF OVERPAYMENT

Section 1. Fault Criteria. In determining whether a claimant is without fault for purposes of deciding whether to waive recovery of overpaid benefits under W.S. 27-3-409, the Division shall consider the following criteria:

1. (a) Whether the claimant made an incorrect statement of material fact in order to collect benefits, and if so, whether the claimant knew or should have known that the statement he gave the Division was incorrect; or
2. (b) Whether the claimant failed to disclose or caused another person to fail to disclose a material fact in connection with a claim for benefits, and if so, whether the claimant knew or should have known the fact not disclosed was material; or
3. (c) Whether the claimant knew or should have known he was not entitled to benefits; or
4. (d) Whether the overpayment resulted directly or indirectly, in whole or part, from some other erroneous act or omission of the claimant, which he knew or should have known was wrong; or
5. (e) Whether the claimant authorized or allowed another person to use his personal identification number (PIN) to file unemployment insurance claims; or
6. (f) Any other relevant factors.

Section 2. Defeats the Purpose of the Act. In determining whether recovery of an overpayment of benefits would defeat the purpose of the act, the Division shall consider the extent to which recovery of the overpayment would create a financial hardship on the claimant, such that he would be unable to provide himself or his immediate family with minimal necessities of food, clothing, medicine, and housing as a result of the Division recovering the overpayment.

Section 3. Equity and Good Conscience. In determining whether it would be against equity and good conscience for the Division to recover an overpayment, the Division shall consider the extent to which an error of an agent of the Division contributed to causing the overpayment of benefits. However, the term error as used herein does not include making a decision to pay benefits which was reversed through the appeals process or the changing of a decision to pay benefits based on the discovery by the Division of additional information or events that occur subsequent to the decision to pay benefits.

Section 4. Interpretation. For the Division to waive recovery, of all or part of the overpayment of benefits, the claimant has the burden of proving that he meets the criteria of Section 1, plus the criteria of either Section 2 or Section 3 of this rule.