Some people got KY unemployment money they had to return. This bill would help them.
A bill that would allow Kentucky to waive the over-payment of certain unemployment claims is moving through the General Assembly in an attempt to help people who left their jobs because of perceived unsafe working conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In March, as the coronavirus pandemic hit and Gov. Andy Beshear encouraged people to stay “Healthy at Home,” the state told people they would be eligible for unemployment money if they left their jobs because they felt like their working condition could expose them to the virus.
By summer, though, people began receiving notices that those claims were under investigation, followed by bills asking for the money back.
In an attempt to fix the problem, Senate Bill 7 would give the Labor Cabinet the ability to waive an over-payment of unemployment insurance money, provided the over-payment was the fault of the unemployment office and not an attempt at fraud. The onus would be on the person who originally received the money to request a waiver.
“I don’t think they (the Labor Cabinet) intended to mess this up at all,” said Sen. David Givens, R-Greensburg, the bill’s sponsor. “There will be very clear communication about how a claimant can respond and appeal.”
It is unclear how many people would be affected by the legislation (the Labor Cabinet did not respond to a request for comment) but Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Taylor Mill, said it could be thousands.
McDaniel blamed the Beshear Administration for providing people money, which was then spent, then asking for the money back. The bill, he said, will hopefully help some Kentuckians who were thrust into a period of financial insecurity.
“We sit here today with the executive and the legislative branch working to do what is best for Kentuckians,” McDaniel said.
The unemployment system has been overwhelmed by more than 1.5 million claims since the beginning of the pandemic, and tens of thousands of those claims remain unresolved (though the administration believes many of the remaining claims are fraudulent).
The Beshear Administration has pinned blame for the mix-up on the U.S. Labor Department. The federal government at first told the state that people who left their jobs because they felt they were at risk of catching the virus would be eligible for unemployment, then later changed the rules. State officials told the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting the U.S. Department of Labor changed their guidance in April, though KyCIR said the state website was still saying those Kentuckians were eligible for benefits in October.
President Joe Biden has since issued an executive order asking the Department of Labor to clarify their rules on who is eligible for unemployment if they feel their workplace is unsafe.
The bill now goes to a full vote of the Senate.
This story was originally published February 23, 2021 at 3:09 PM.
