                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

(EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2028) RECEIVING BENEFITS TO WHICH NOT ENTITLED (§ 60.2-633)

A. Any person who has received any sum as benefits under this title to which he
was not entitled shall be liable to repay such sum to the Commission. For
purposes of this section, &#8220;benefits under this title&#8221; includes
benefits under an unemployment benefit program of the United States or of any
other state. In the event the claimant does not refund the overpayment, the
Commission shall deduct from any future benefits such sum payable to him under
this title. However, if an overpayment of benefits under this chapter, but not
under an unemployment benefit program of the United States or of any other
state, occurred due to administrative error, the Commission shall have the
authority to negotiate the terms of repayment, which shall include (i) deducting
up to 50 percent of the payable amount for any future week of benefits claimed,
rounded down to the next lowest dollar until the overpayment is satisfied; (ii)
forgoing collection of the payable amount until the recipient has found
employment as defined in &#xA7; 60.2-212; or (iii) determining and instituting
an individualized repayment plan. The Commission shall collect an overpayment of
benefits under this chapter caused by administrative error only by offset
against future benefits or a negotiated repayment plan; however, the Commission
may institute any other method of collection if the individual fails to enter
into or comply with the terms of the repayment plan. Administrative error shall
not include decisions reversed in the appeals process. In addition, the
overpayment may be collectible by civil action in the name of the Commission.
Amounts collected in this manner may be subject to an interest charge as
prescribed in &#xA7; 58.1-15 from the date of judgment and may be subject to
fees and costs. Collection activities for any benefit overpayment established of
$5 or less may be suspended. When a benefit overpayment is not caused by fraud
on the part of the claimant, pursuant to &#xA7; 60.2-618 or 60.2-632, collection
activities shall be suspended and the Commission shall, at the earliest of the
following, determine as uncollectable and discharge the benefit overpayment from
its records if it remains unpaid (a) after the expiration of five years from the
last day of the benefit year, as defined in &#xA7; 60.2-206, in which the
overpayment was made; (b) immediately upon the death of such person; or (c) upon
such person&#8217;s discharge in bankruptcy occurring subsequently to the
determination of overpayment. In any other circumstance, the Commission may
determine as uncollectible and discharge from its records any benefit
overpayment (1) that remains unpaid after the expiration of seven years from the
last day of the benefit year, as defined in &#xA7; 60.2-206, in which the
overpayment was made; (2) immediately upon the death of such person; (3) upon
such person&#8217;s discharge in bankruptcy occurring subsequently to the
determination of overpayment; or (4) at any time where, provided the state has
already made reasonable attempts to collect any liabilities to the state
unemployment fund, pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated by the
Commission, the Commission finds such overpayment to be uncollectible or the
recovery of such overpayment to be administratively impracticable. Any existing
overpayment balance not equal to an even dollar amount shall be rounded to the
next lowest even dollar amount.

B. The Commission is authorized to accept repayment of benefit overpayments by
use of a credit card. The Virginia Employment Commission shall add to such
payment a service charge for the acceptance of such card. Such service charge
shall not exceed the percentage charged to the Virginia Employment Commission
for use of such card.

C. Final orders of the Commission with respect to benefit overpayments may be
recorded, enforced and satisfied as orders or decrees of a circuit court upon
certification of such orders by the Commissioner as may be appropriate.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 60-115; 1962, c. 138; 1968, c. 738, § 60.1-132; 1974, c.
466; 1979, c. 675; 1980, c. 751; 1981, c. 251; 1984, c. 458; 1985, c. 151; 1986,
c. 480; 1988, c. 544; 1990, c. 687; 1996, c. 95; 2008, c. 492; 2010, c. 327;
2013, c. 683; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 539; 2024, cc. 591, 746, 772.