§ 41-41-20 — Suspension of benefits to claimant making false statement or failing to disclose material fact; deduction from benefits.

(A) A claimant found by the department knowingly to have made a false statement or who knowingly failed to disclose a material fact when filing a compensable claim to establish his right to or increase the amount of his benefits is ineligible to receive benefits for any week for which the claim was filed and is ineligible to receive further benefits for not less than ten and not more than fifty-two consecutive weeks as determined by the department according to the circumstances of the case, these weeks to commence with the date of the determination. (B) If the department finds that a fraudulent misrepresentation has been made by a claimant with the object of obtaining benefits under this chapter to which he was not entitled, in addition to any other penalty or prosecution provided under this chapter, the department may make a determination that there must be deducted from benefits to which the claimant might become entitled during this present benefit year or the next subsequent benefit year, or both, an amount not less than two and one-half times his weekly benefit amount and not more than his maximum benefit amount payable in a benefit year, as determined under Chapter 35. This deduction takes effect on the date of the determination. An appeal from this determination must be made in the manner prescribed in Article 5, Chapter 35.

Legislative History

HISTORY: 1962 Code SECTION 68-401.1; 1972 (57) 2309; 1973 (58) 248; 2002 Act No. 202, SECTION 1, eff April 10, 2002; 2010 Act No. 146, SECTION 104, eff March 30, 2010; 2015 Act No. 77 (S.407), SECTION 2, eff June 8, 2015. Effect of Amendment The 2002 amendment rewrote this section. The 2010 amendment substituted "department" for four occurrences of "commission" throughout the section. 2015 Act No. 77, SECTION 2, in (B), inserted "and one-half" following "an amount not less than two".