Virginia resumes collection of unemployment overpayments

(The Center Square) – Virginia has resumed the collection of unemployment overpayments this month after temporarily halting those collections to address a backlog of pending claims and waivers.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Virginia Employment Commission faced an influx of unemployment claims. Thousands of recipients received more money than they were entitled to get, either through fraud, errors on the application or errors from the VEC. Those erroneous payments are classified as overpayments.

The VEC is working with those recipients to establish repayments or installment plans to pay the money back to the agency, according to a news release. If a person does not repay the money or enter into a repayment plan, the VEC will refer them to collections. The agency works with the attorney general’s office, an outside collection agency and other government agencies to collect the funds.

However, if a person applies for a waiver, that will be put on hold, pending a decision on whether to grant the waiver.

“Customers who have a pending waiver or appeal will not be referred to billing and collections until all other options have been pursued,” a statement from the VEC read. “During this period, the agency has continued to pursue recovery through repayments or installment plans for customers who owe money.”

If a person received an overpayment, but did not commit fraud or make mistakes on their application, they can apply for a waiver, according to the news release. The VEC has approved 23,310 overpayment waivers worth $80 million for those who were overpaid through no fault of their own.

However, the VEC is working with law enforcement to prosecute those who committed fraud and recover those funds.

Since the beginning of the pandemic-caused rise in unemployment, the VEC believes there was $814 million in overpayments. In March, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced a crackdown on fraud.

According to the VEC, customers who received overpayments will get an Overpayment Billing Statement, which will provide instructions on how to make those payments.

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