5.8.1 General Principles

If your client has ever applied for unemployment benefits, this could be a problem now or a potential problem you can help avoid. As required by federal law, Louisiana has a process to detect, establish, and recover overpaid benefits.1  The agency may find an error on its own, through a federal audit, or through a third-party complaint. The prescriptive period for collection is currently 5 years (10 for fraud), with generous interruptions allowed.2  The U.S. Department of Labor has performance standards for state recovery efforts and requires states to pursue all means of collection. Clients who get a Notice of Overpayment must timely appeal in order to seek waiver of collection when one is available. The Notice should include a total amount and the week(s) overpaid and indicate whether or not the repayment is being sought due to fraud.

• 1La. R.S. 23:1740, et seq.
• 2See La. R.S. 23:1713(C)(2); La. R.S. 23:1601(8)(b); LAC 40:IV:369, et seq.