Bill > H2149

This bill modifies Massachusetts unemployment insurance law to provide more protections for individuals who have received unemployment benefit overpayments through no fault of their own. The bill establishes new provisions for how the Department of Unemployment Assistance handles overpayments, including limiting the timeframe for recovering mistaken payments and creating broader waiver opportunities. Specifically, the bill allows the department to cancel restitution for non-fault overpayments after three years, introduces comprehensive waiver provisions for individuals who are deemed "without fault," and outlines specific circumstances where overpayment recovery can be waived, such as when the individual is receiving certain public assistance benefits or has low income. The bill also requires the department to provide multilingual assistance for waiver applications, notify individuals of their waiver rights in plain language, and pause recovery efforts for 60 days after notifying an individual of a potential overpayment. Additionally, the bill restricts the department's ability to offset overpayments against tax refunds or other payments only in cases where the individual is determined to be at fault for the overpayment. These changes aim to provide more compassionate and flexible treatment of unemployment insurance overpayments, particularly for vulnerable populations.

Budget and Finance, Labor and Employment

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H2149