Employment Insurance Overpayment and Collections (8:XI): Difference between revisions

{{REVIEWED LSLAP | date= August 1, 2023}}

If the Commission pays a claimant more than that claimant is entitled to, whether through the claimant’s fault or the Commission’s, the Commission is entitled to recover the overpayment (''EI Act'', s. 43). The Commission may deduct the overpayment from any benefit payable to the claimant, or the Commission’s Collections Branch may contact the claimant to recover the overpayment (s. 47). The Commission must send written notice, stating the existence of the overpayment and why it occurred, as well as explaining the right to appeal within 30 days.

If the overpayment results from a reconsideration of a decision involving an element of judgment or discretion by the Commission (often as part of a random “audit”), an appeal should be filed. Umpires have ruled that the Commission does not have the right to second-guess its previous determination of such questions (such as just cause, misconduct, and availability) unless there are significant new facts it could not have learned about when the initial decision was made.