Oregon Forces Thousands To Pay Back Unemployment Checks Due To State Errors
Imagine this: You’re one of the countless millions of people who lost their job due to covid hysteria. You apply for unemployment through the state. After months of delays, frustration, ghosting, and perpetual busy signals when you try to call, someone finally gets to your claim. They ask you a few basic questions, they verify a few things, then approve you for unemployment checks, including the back pay for all of the months you spent waiting. You finally get a pile of checks. You’re able to catch up on rent, catch up on bills, and catch up on other household and living expenses.
Then the state sends you a letter saying “Oops, we screwed up. Now you have to pay us back all of that money we gave you. Plus interest.”
That’s the nightmare that approximately 1500 people in Oregon are experiencing.
KOIN 6 reports:
The acting director of the Oregon Employment Department told KOIN 6 News over the phone that he estimated about 1,500 people are in a situation where they were paid benefits but now have to pay them back for one reason or another.
That’s the case for Sophia McIntosh, who applied for regular unemployment benefits in March. In July, she said 14 checks from the Oregon Employment Department showed up in the mail all at once. She said she used the money to pay bills and thought everything was fine until she got a letter in the mail on November 4 saying she has to pay back $4,800.
This completely shocked McIntosh because before this, she had no idea her claim was denied or that she needed to file an appeal.
“You gave me the money, you told me I was approved, how was I supposed to know?” McIntosh said. “I physically cannot pay this back, that’s why I was asking for unemployment in the first place, cause I didn’t have money.”
This is only the latest example of the sheer incompetence of Oregon’s brave and stunning leadership. This past spring, they started garnishing legitimate unemployment checks to pay back prior over payments that were doled out due to errors by the state. Keep in mind this was at the peak of the Covid layoffs. Oregon Public Broadcasting reported:
There was good news and bad news when Cameron Duskin lost his dishwashing job in March because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The good news: He quickly qualified for unemployment benefits.
The bad news: The state took them.
“I’m getting zero dollars and I don’t know
Source: The Gateway Pundit
