§ 26 §1051 — Penalties

Maine § 26 §1051

• Jurisdiction: Maine
• Title 26: LABOR AND INDUSTRY
• Ch. 13: UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION

Text

1.
False statement or representation.
A person is guilty of unemployment fraud if that person makes a false statement or representation knowing it to be false or knowingly fails to disclose a material fact or solicits another person to make a false statement knowing it to be false or knowingly solicits another person to fail to disclose a material fact:
2.
Separate offense.
Any person who willfully fails or refuses to make any contributions or other payments, to furnish any reports required by this chapter or to produce or permit the inspection or copying of records as required is guilty of a Class D crime. Each failure or refusal shall constitute a separate offense. For purposes of this paragraph, "person" means an individual, corporation or partnership or an officer or employee of any corporation, including a dissolved corporation, or a member or employee of any partnership who was, at the time of the violation, under a duty to comply with this paragraph.
3.
Class E crime.
Any person who willfully violates any provision of this chapter or any regulation thereunder, the violation of which is made unlawful or the observance of which is required under the terms of this chapter, and for which a penalty is neither prescribed herein nor provided by any other applicable statute, is guilty of a Class E crime.
4.
Nondisclosure or misrepresentation to receive benefits.
A person who, by reason of the nondisclosure or misrepresentation by that person or by another of a material fact, if that nondisclosure or misrepresentation was known to that person or ought to have been known by that person to be fraudulent, has received any sum as benefits under this chapter while any conditions for the receipt of benefits imposed by this chapter were not fulfilled in that person's case, or while that person was disqualified from receiving benefits, is either liable to have the sum deducted from any future benefits payable to that person under this chapter or is liable to repay to the bureau for the Unemployment Compensation Fund a sum equal to the amount so received by that person, and the sum must be collectible in the manner provided in subsection 6.
5.
Refusal to repay erroneous payments; waiver of repayment.
If, after due notice, any person refuses to repay amounts erroneously paid to that person as unemployment benefits, the amounts due from that person are collectible in the manner provided in subsection 6 or in the discretion of the commissioner or the commissioner's designee, the amount erroneously paid to such person may be deducted from any future benefits payable to that person under this chapter; except that there is no recovery of payments from any person who, in the judgment of the commissioner or the commissioner's designee, is without fault and when, in the judgment of the commissioner or the commissioner's designee, such recovery would defeat the purpose of benefits otherwise authorized or would be against equity and good conscience. No recovery may be attempted until the determination of an erroneous payment is final as to law and fact and the individual has been notified of the opportunity for a waiver under this subsection.
6.
Collection of erroneous payments or payments received by nondisclosure or misrepresentation.
Any amounts of benefit payments owed to the commissioner by any individual may be collected by any of the following methods.
7.
Limitation on recovery.
Deduction from benefits that may be or may become payable to an individual as provided for in subsection 5 is limited to not more than 10% of the first $100 and 50% of any amount above $100 of any weekly benefit payment otherwise due the claimant.
8.
Setoff of debts against lottery winnings.
Lottery winnings may be offset for benefit payments owed to the commissioner in accordance with this subsection.
9.
Interest on overpayments.
A benefit overpayment established in a determination rendered under section 1193, subsection 6 accrues interest at the rate of 1.0% per month or per fraction of a month from the first of the month following the date the determination establishing the benefit overpayment becomes final until payment plus accrued interest is received by the bureau.
10.
Application of benefit repayments.
Amounts received through any means to repay benefit payments owed to the commissioner must be applied first to any outstanding penalties, 2nd to any outstanding interest and 3rd to any benefit payments owed to the commissioner, except that if the repayment of benefit amounts owed to the commissioner is accomplished by offsetting subsequent benefit payments issued under this chapter, that repayment may be applied only to the principal amount.

Legislative History

PL 1971, c. 419 (AMD). PL 1975, c. 462, §2 (AMD). PL 1975, c. 710, §3 (AMD). PL 1977, c. 460, §§1-3 (AMD). PL 1979, c. 515, §9 (AMD). PL 1979, c. 579, §§9-11,43 (AMD). PL 1979, c. 651, §§10-12,44, 47 (AMD). PL 1981, c. 284 (AMD). PL 1981, c. 327 (AMD). PL 1983, c. 118 (AMD). PL 1983, c. 305, §1 (AMD). PL 1983, c. 351, §5 (AMD). PL 1985, c. 348, §3 (AMD). PL 1997, c. 293, §4 (AMD). PL 1997, c. 434, §§1,2 (AMD). PL 1999, c. 464, §§3,4 (AMD). PL 2011, c. 645, §1 (AMD). PL 2021, c. 456, §§6, 7 (AMD). PL 2021, c. 543, §3 (AMD). RR 2021, c. 2, Pt. A, §92 (COR). RR 2023, c. 2, Pt. E, §83 (COR). PL 2025, c. 235, §§4-6 (AMD).