MISSISSIPPI, USA — Tens of thousands of Mississippians who've mistakenly received unemployment, are finding out they have to pay that money back to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security.
THE QUESTION
"Do I have to repay the state of Mississippi if I mistakenly received unemployment?"
THE SOURCES:
THE ANSWER
Yes, if you were notified by MDES that you owe money, you have to pay it back regardless of how the error happened.
WHAT WE FOUND
The Mississippi Department of Employment Security incorrectly paid out nearly $118 million in unemployment benefits in 2020. Of the incorrect payments, some were cases of stolen identity, people who never lost their jobs, and people who just simply made mistakes filing for benefits.
The state's auditor reported Mississippi claimants were determined ineligible after initially qualifying for unemployment for many reasons. Some of those include if they weren't looking for a new job while receiving unemployment checks if they were fired for misconduct at work or if they tried to get unemployment checks from another state.
According to the audit report, the wrong payments went undetected because MDES staff was overwhelmed by the high number of unemployment claims filed at the beginning of the pandemic. The audit report also claimed MDES waived most of the usual criteria for Mississippians to receive unemployment benefits, so it made it easier for people to defraud the state.
But according to MDES, regardless if the state made an error or the applicant made an error, the money has to be paid back. People can enter a repayment plan refunding a minimum payment of $150 per month until the debt is satisfied. The department said failure to pay could result in garnishment of future wages.