A SINGLE mother is worried about ending up on the streets as the state claims she owes $22,000 despite her no fault of her own.
Marquisha McCullough of Nashville, Tennessee, applied for unemployment benefits during the pandemic after losing her job.
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The expectant mother started receiving payments from April 2020 until June 2021, but now, four years later, the state wants the money back, she said. WLBT News.
Late last year, she began receiving notices in the mail claiming she owed $22,000 in unemployment overpayments.
“I almost had a stroke,” the mother told the media outlet.
“I’m going to be on the street… I’m going to be very confused,” she said, remembering that she can’t pay the bill.
read more about improper payments
In November 2021, the Tennessee Department of Labor claimed she was “not eligible to receive Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits.”
After filing suit to have this decision overturned, the state decided that she had been overpaid and placed the blame on her.
However, an appeal saw the decision overturned with a court hearing in December 2023 concluding that McCullough was “not at fault in establishing the overpayment”.
The case was sent back to the agency for further investigation to see if the overpayment should be waived.
“I didn’t break any laws, I didn’t commit fraud, it’s not my fault,” the single mother told the media outlet.
“I just don’t want to owe it. I want to put it behind me.”
Before a decision on whether to waive the overpayment could be made, McCullough lost his job selling insurance.
Now, after reapplying for unemployment benefits, she claims the Labor Department is trying to take money from her new checks, as well as her income tax refund, to make up for the overpayment.
A Department of Labor spokesperson says McCullough was contacted on April 15 saying she could still request an exemption for the overpayment.
They alleged that she had not filled out the form or sent the necessary documentation about her employment status for the exemption to be considered.
However, McCullough claims he did not receive an email in April and sent all available documentation between 2020 and 2021.
However, she noted that she doesn’t have accounts from four years ago because she didn’t know they would be needed.
Submitting a Waiver to the SSA
Those who are unable to pay the overpaid amounts indicated by the SSA or who feel they should not be able to do so can fill out a specific form.
- O form is identified as SSA-632 in the SSA website and can be completed and submitted at a local office.
- “If you agree that you received an overpayment, but you feel that you should not have to return it because you did not cause the overpayment and you are unable to repay it, you should complete Form SSA-632,” notes the SSA on your website.
- It also lists several refund options.
- Recipients with additional questions should call 1-800-772-1213.
“I can’t fill out an exemption form because it asks for accounts, and my accounts are not the same now, and I don’t have account statements from three and four years ago,” she said.
“I didn’t know I would need to keep them.”
She added that instead of getting help and helpful reminders, the Department of Labor has been sending intimidating emails about collecting money allegedly owed.
“This last letter is in capital letters: FINAL, FINAL, FINAL,” McCullough told the outlet.
“I feel like I’m part of an organized crowd, like these people are after me and I can’t sleep.”
“You know this is wrong. There’s no doubt about that.
“How many other people are they doing this to? It’s not right.”
The Tennessee Department of Labor reportedly overpaid 23,799 unemployment insurance claims totaling about $63 million, per WLBT.
The US Sun has reached out to the Department of Labor for comment.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
