Last updated 10/18/22:

Over the past couple years, many of us who received unemployment benefits have been sent threatening “overpayment notices” from ESD, which claim we were overpaid and owe the money back—money we already spent to pay bills during the crisis.

Overpayments on unemployment benefits have been mostly caused by the rapid changes in pandemic policies, ESD or employer errors, or lack of information available during the application process. 

Thousands of workers with Working Washington organized to fight back against these unfair and erroneous overpayment notices. After months of speaking out, we’re finally seeing change! 

So, what’S changing & what should I expect? 

Workers who have received overpayment notices on their unemployment benefits are sometimes eligible for “waivers” — an often-complicated process to stop the state from trying to take back benefits. (Note: “waivers” are different from “appeals” because waivers apply in scenarios where ESD agrees not to take back money from a worker, even if the worker was overpaid.)

Thanks to the relentless organizing of hundreds of workers, ESD has finally announced that they’re dramatically expanding the number of overpayments that are eligible for waivers, by creating a series of blanket waivers to cover many common federal overpayment scenarios and expanding eligibility for individual waivers to cover even more state UI overpayment scenarios.

To hear it straight from ESD, check out their Unemployment Insurance Advisory Committee meeting from September 27, 2022 where they explain the details of their plan.

Here’s what we know so far:

Big win for workers: ESD has finally changed their policies to waive thousands of overpayments from the pandemic period (March 7, 2020 - September 4, 2021).

 
 

There are two big changes happening

(1) ESD is passing blanket waivers for a number of scenarios for people who received overpayment notices on federal benefits. 

(2) ESD is also updating rules for individual state overpayment waivers to cover even more overpayments not related to federal benefits. 

 
 

Federal Blanket Waivers

For federal blanket waivers, you must still match a certain set of criteria:

  • There is no application process for this type of waiver. 

  • The first blanket waiver ESD has passed applies in scenarios where you were switched or paid through the 'wrong' program - for example, you were still eligible for some kind of payment, but ESD paid you through PUA or PEUC when you were actually eligible for regular state UI.   

  • ESD has said they’ll implement this waiver—now, we need to keep an eye on them and make sure everyone who’s eligible for this first blanket waiver gets what they’re owed. 

  • There are several other blanket waiver scenarios in process for federal overpayments. 

 
 

Individual Waivers

For individual waivers, you must match a certain set of criteria, and fill out an application to be eligible. ESD has announced new rules to dramatically expand the situations that are eligible for individual state UI waivers, and they are working on updating their waiver applications to match these new rules. 

  • Individual waivers apply to overpayments on state benefits, not federal benefits like PUA or PEUC. 

  • State law currently says ESD can waive overpayments as a matter of “equity and good conscience” and when the claimant is not “at fault.” ESD is changing the definition of “equity and good conscience” to make it easier to issue more overpayments waivers, and they are also changing their definition of “at fault” to take into consideration what they call “other personal factors.”

  • Not everyone who has an overpayment will be eligible for an individual waiver, but the new definitions are pretty expansive. 

 
 
 
 

Here are some situations that we believe will be eligible for individual waivers once ESD finalizes the new rules:

  • You were unable to get information from ESD, or the information you got was confusing, inconsistent, or wrong. 

  • There was a substantial delay from when you started receiving benefits to when ESD told you you weren’t actually eligible. 

  • You or someone you care for was experiencing a health problem or has a disability. 

  • You didn’t have reliable access to a computer.

  • You got confusing or conflicting information from your employer. 

 
 

We made this happen!

Both blanket and individual waivers are being massively expanded because we came together and spoke out about our experiences. At first, ESD said they couldn’t do anything about this issue—now, what ESD said was “impossible” is happening. 

 
 

What if I already paid ESD back or was denied a waiver?

If you already made payments to your overpayment balance, ESD has said you will be eligible for repayment in cases that are covered by the new policies. You will need to fill out an application to be considered for repayment. 

If you were previously denied a waiver, you should also be able to apply for reconsideration (and repayment, if applicable) under the new expanded waiver policies. 

 
 

More info to come!

We’re still waiting for more info on next steps: ESD needs to identify claimants who qualify for blanket waivers, create a new waiver application for the individual state claims, and create an application for reconsideration and repayment for those who have already been denied waivers or already started making payments.

We will keep you updated as we get new info! In the meantime, fill out this short form to help us collect information about your situation and we can reach out when we learn if you’re covered!