48-665. Benefits; erroneous payments; recovery; setoff against federal income tax refund; procedure.

(1) Any person who has received any sum as benefits under the Employment Security Law to which he or she was not entitled shall be liable to repay such sum to the commissioner for the fund. Any such erroneous benefit payments shall be collectible (a) without interest by civil action in the name of the commissioner, (b) by offset against any future benefits payable to the claimant with respect to the benefit year current at the time of such receipt or any benefit year which may commence within three years after the end of such current benefit year, except that no such recoupment by the withholding of future benefits shall be had if such sum was received by such person without fault on his or her part and such recoupment would defeat the purpose of the Employment Security Law or would be against equity and good conscience, (c) by setoff against any state income tax refund due the claimant pursuant to sections 77-27,197 to 77-27,209, or (d) as provided in subsection (2) of this section.

(2) The commissioner may recover a covered unemployment compensation debt, as defined in 26 U.S.C. 6402, by setoff against a liable party's federal income tax refund. Such setoff shall be made in accordance with such section and United States Treasury regulations and guidelines adopted pursuant thereto. The commissioner shall notify the debtor that the commissioner plans to recover the debt through setoff against any federal income tax refund, and the debtor shall be given sixty days to present evidence that all or part of the liability is either not legally enforceable or is not a covered unemployment compensation debt. The commissioner shall review any evidence presented and determine that the debt is legally enforceable and is a covered unemployment compensation debt before proceeding further with the offset. The amount recovered, less any administrative fees charged by the United States Treasury, shall be credited to the debt owed. Any determination rendered under this subsection that the liable party's federal income tax refund is not subject to setoff does not require the commissioner to amend the commissioner's initial determination that formed the basis for the proposed setoff.

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Annotations

The time limitations provided for in sections 25-206 and 25-218 do not infringe upon the Department of Labor's ability to collect an overpayment by setoff under this section. McCoy v. Albin, 298 Neb. 297, 903 N.W.2d 902 (2017).