Jefferson City, Mo. — The Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations has implemented a process for claimants to apply to the Division of Employment Security (DES) for potential waiver of the recovery of non-fraud federal pandemic program unemployment benefit overpayments. Notices to eligible claimants began mailing out last week and are available in the “Correspondence” tab of UInteract, Missouri’s online unemployment benefits service.
Claimants who receive the notice have 30 days from the date of the notice to apply, and are strongly encouraged to apply online through UInteract. Each application must be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, as required by federal guidelines. DES is anticipating a large number of requests and will be working as quickly as possible to review each application and issue a determination. Upon receipt of an application for waiver of recovery, all recovery activities will remain suspended for all eligible overpayments until processing is complete and all rights to appeal have been exhausted.
The waiver provision applies to overpaid benefits for weeks ending February 8, 2020, through June 12, 2021, under these federal pandemic programs:
- Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC)
- Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA)
- Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC)
- Mixed Earners Unemployment Compensation (MEUC)
- Lost Wages Assistance (LWA)
The waiver of recovery only applies to non-fraud federal benefit overpayments paid under the CARES Act. Regular state unemployment insurance (UI) overpayments, Extended Benefits (EB) overpayments, and overpayments that resulted from claimant fraud are not eligible for waiver. DES will resume collection activities in August for any overpayment that is not eligible for waiver of recovery.
Additionally, the Division of Employment Security is warning unemployment insurance claimants about scams aiming to steal personal information. Individuals are encouraged to be aware of the potential for fraud and only use the official website, UInteract.labor.mo.gov.
More information is available at www.labor.mo.gov/coronavirus.
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