

If you began working while you were collecting Unemployment Insurance benefits and you did not report your wages to the DUA, you would be "at fault" in causing the overpayment. Or if you don’t have any children but you claimed a child as a dependent in order to collect the extra $25 weekly dependent allowance, you would also be at fault.ĭUA has the burden to show that you were at fault. Fault would also be accepting a UI benefit check you knew, or should have known, was incorrect. This includes failing to tell the DUA information that you knew, or should have known, that would change whether you should get Unemployment Insurance, or how much you should get. What is "fault" in causing the overpayment?įault is lying to the DUA or intentionally not telling them all the information they need to calculate the right amount of Unemployment Insurance for you.

Your Unemployment Insurance benefits will be lower until you have paid back the overpayment to the DUA. If you do not appeal or request a waiver, the DUA will begin to collect the overpayment from your Unemployment Insurance benefits if you are still receiving them. If the DUA decides that they have overpaid you, you will get a letter from them, a "Notice of Overpayment". What happens when DUA decides they have sent me an overpayment? This information changes the amount of benefits you should get. It is very important to tell the DUA information as soon as you can, like when you get wages from another job, or when you are not "available for work". If they send you more than you should get, they have sent you an overpayment. If the DUA does not get all the information from you that they need, they can calculate the wrong amount to send you.If the DUA has already sent you money when they should not have, the money that was sent is an overpayment. If the Board of Review or a court looks at your claim and decides that actually you cannot get unemployment benefits, it "reverses the claim".The DUA can also send you money when they should not have sent any money.

Maybe the DUA sent you more money than they should have, or sent you money they should not have sent. What is an overpayment?Īn overpayment is money you get that the DUA should not have sent to you. Even if you agree that you were overpaid, you may not have to pay it back if you meet certain conditions. If the DUA says that you were overpaid, you can challenge DUA's decision, or the amount of the overpayment. The Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) is the agency that sends checks to people who claim unemployment benefits. You may be able to get Unemployment faster and more easily than before. Many of the rules have changed because of this emergency.

Because of the Covid-19 emergency, many people are out of work and looking for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits.
