What Are My Rights If I Get an Unemployment Overpayment Notice?

Addressing an Overpayment Notice from the Department of Unemployment

Many people are receiving "overpayment" notices from the DUA. This has always been something the DUA can do if it believes benefits were paid out in error. It is much more widespread recently because of the confusion that surrounded unemployment applications during the pandemic.

If you get an overpayment notice, you can (i) appeal the underlying decision that you should not have gotten benefits; and/or (ii) request a waiver of the overpayment.

You should know these are two separate things. You can apply for a waiver any time, but if you want to appeal the underlying decision, you will have to do that within the time period specified in the notice (usually 30 days).

The amounts can be significant, especially if you collected benefits while the extra federal money was added to your weekly benefit. It is a good idea to contact an attorney as soon as possible if you receive one of these notices.

Learn more here about unemployment overpayment in Massachusetts.