Georgians returning to Work and failing to report Wages are committing Fraud

According to a Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL), in the past five months, almost 10,000 Georgians have returned to work, but continued to request unemployment insurance (UI) benefits without reporting new wages earned. Per state and federal law, an individual must report gross wages (earnings before taxes and other deductions) for each week you work and claim unemployment benefits. The GDOL utilizes a quarterly wage cross-match system that alerts the agency to wages reported by employers, but not reported by claimants. Employers pay unemployment taxes that fund UI benefits when they file quarterly wage reports.  Each week claimants are asked to certify if they were able and available for work if they refused any work offered during the week, and if they worked or earned any wages. If a claimant selects “No” for the question regarding work and wages, he/she is self-attesting that those answers are truthful and correct. If a quarterly wage cross-match or an employer new hire report shows that this information is not factual, the claimant will be contacted to provide additional information on the wages and work history. If the GDOL determines a claimant was paid unemployment benefits he/she should not have received, it is considered an overpayment, and the claimant will be required to repay the money, including any income taxes that were withheld. The overpayment will be categorized as non-fraud (caused by an unintentional act) or fraudulent overpayment (caused when a claimant intentionally makes false statements, fails to disclose a material fact, or misrepresents material facts to obtain or increase benefits). Overpayments must be paid back to GDOL and may include civil or criminal penalties, disqualification of future UI benefits, and even incarceration.