§ 41-41-45 — Improper unemployment compensation payments.

(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the department determines that an improper payment from its unemployment compensation fund or from any federal unemployment compensation fund was made to any individual due to a false statement or failure to disclose a material fact pursuant to Sections 41-41-10 and 41-41-20, the department will assess a monetary penalty of thirty-three percent of the amount of the overpayment. (B) The notice of the determination or decision informing the individual of the overpayment must include: (1) the claimant's appeal rights; (2) the penalty amount; (3) an explanation of the reason for the overpayment; and (4) the reason the penalty has been applied. (C) The recovered amounts shall be applied with priority to: (1) the principal amount of the overpayment to the unemployment compensation fund; (2) sixty percent of the monetary penalty to the unemployment compensation fund; (3) the remaining forty percent of the monetary penalty to promote unemployment compensation integrity; and (4) any remaining amounts to interest. (D) Offset of future unemployment insurance benefits shall not be applied to the monetary penalty or interest associated with an overpayment. (E) The monetary penalty will be assessed on any fraudulent overpayment determined by the department.

Legislative History

HISTORY: 2013 Act No. 53, SECTION 1, eff June 7, 2013; 2015 Act No. 77 (S.407), SECTION 2, eff June 8, 2015. Effect of Amendment 2015 Act No. 77, SECTION 2, in (A), substituted "thirty-three percent" for "twenty-five percent"; and in (E), deleted "after October 21, 2013" at the end.