Several thousand Pennsylvanians have received erroneous letters from the state Department of Labor and Industry about Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) overpayments, which the letters incorrectly say must be repaid by Dec. 1.
The letters say the claimants’ right to appeal has expired, and threaten the recipient with seizure of state or federal income tax refunds, as well as additional financial penalties. The letters also direct the recipients to send checks to the Pennsylvania Workforce Commission – an agency that does not exist.
Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor and Industry said the error was caused by Geographic Solutions, the vendor that runs its web-based Unemployment Compensation system.
“L&I is still gathering information, but it appears that a form created for claimants in another state was amended to include reference to Pennsylvania and sent to Pennsylvania claimants,” according to an agency spokesperson. She said the department plans to contact people who received the incorrect notices.
It isn’t the first time such an erroneous letter has gone out. A letter earlier this year threatened property liens.
Advocates are also trying to get the word out to anyone who might have received the notices.
“These notices were sent in error. They are not accurate to Pennsylvania, they do not apply to you. They do not apply to your overpayment and you can ignore them and should ignore them,” said Julia Simon-Mishel, supervising attorney of the unemployment compensation unit at Philadelphia Legal Assistance.
During the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath, the state’s Unemployment Compensation system has been plagued by case backlogs, complaints that the out-of-work can’t reach the department because of constantly busy phone signals, and problems sorting a wave of fraudulent claims from legitimate ones.
The system underwent a multi-million-dollar computer upgrade last summer, though some problems have persisted, particularly a shortage of trained department staff, which has exacerbated the claims backlog.
Advocates have also previously raised concerns about department overpayment notices sent to people with non-fault overpayments, where claimants were overpaid in error. Those notices warn of possible punishments such as, “intercepting your federal income tax refund, filing a lien against you and/or pursuing criminal prosecution.” However, none of these consequences apply to non-fault overpayments. In a report issued last December, the state “has agreed to revisit the language and design of the notices,” though the notices have not yet been changed.
Contact the Department of Labor and Industry here.
