How are honest errors handled?
A. Honest errors are not treated as fraud, but claimants may still have to pay back the money they received. For example, if a claimant is working part-time and reports net wages instead of gross wages, his or her unemployment check will be bigger than it should be. He or she will have to repay the money that was issued in error. However, if an employer misreports wages for a quarter and a claimant is issued higher benefits than she or he really deserves, the claimant will not have to pay back the money because it was not her or his error. The costs for the extra benefits will be socialized, or spread across all employers. In 2007, the state legislature adopted a new law allowing Employment Security to charge employers for excess unemployment benefits that are a result of their errors, rather than charging them to all employers.
