The Nebraska Department of Labor has recovered over $6.3 million in unemployment insurance debt so far this year. The total includes over $2.7 million recovered through the Treasury Offset Program (TOP), which offsets the federal tax refunds of unemployment insurance claimants who commit fraud or reporting errors.
TOP was instituted in Nebraska in February, 2013 to recover payments from individuals who have failed to accurately report earnings or otherwise falsified their benefit application to increase their payments this year or in the past. The program has recovered nearly $4.8 million in benefit payments so far.
Generally, overpayment of benefits is occurring less and less through the use of business intelligence to identify scenarios where an overpayment may occur. In addition, the Department of Labor is preventing and detecting overpayments faster than ever using a combination of fraud prevention messaging, training, IT advancements, and legislation.
Employers can help prevent benefit overpayments by providing timely responses to requests for information used in determining eligibility. The Department has implemented the State Information Data Exchange System (SIDES) E-Response, which allows employers to send employee separation information electronically.
For more information about the Nebraska Department of Labor or to report suspected fraud, go to dol.nebraska.gov. Employers interested in E-Response should go to dol.nebraska.gov/SIDES.