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You have your school calendar showing that your first day of work was Aug 31. I think that money you got on 9/7 was for a period of time BEFORE that date when you weren't supposed to be working. Therefore, it's money for something OTHER than work - it doesn't count for purposes of UI.
I'm about to send in my appeal form but it feels odd not to submit an explanation as it calls for a detailed explanation of why I feel the determination was wrong? I know Chyvan you stated that stating the determination is wrong is a reason - but will they look at that and say okay it's wrong but why?
"Being WRONG" is as detailed as it needs to be. Read the threads. Every appeal REQUEST is the same. Not a single poster has been denied a hearing for saying it like this over and over. You save your words and evidence for the HEARING. You do NOT present them now. If you do, the opposing side uses them to prepare, and just might find something to derail you that you weren't expecting.
We've been posting it like this since at least late 2011 - that's nearly 8 YEARS. No one has ripped us a new one telling us we got it wrong, and it hurt them. We don't say stuff that doesn't work, and if we know there is an outlier state, we'll tell you risks.
It is an appeal REQUEST no matter what that form says. It is NOT an appeal.
Once your hearing is scheduled you will be able to get a copy of your file. You will have a better idea of what you will need to submit when you have had the opportunity to see what is in your file.
Hi again, So I got my appeal hearing date for Sept 20th (this Friday). I was kind of taken back when I received the notice of hearing as there was a number of sheets with various issues that will be considered during the hearing. They state the following (and wanted to get your input on my answers):
1375 Was the claimant overpaid benefits? If so, was there any fault on the part of the claimant? If not, would repayment cause an extraordinary financial or other hardship? My answer to this is apparently so but I didn't know anything about it until I received the letter in May of 2019 (this was for 2017). It will cause a hardship because I do have a lot of medical bills and I can show my diagnosis which I'm being treated for that has caused a lot of medical bills
1375.1 Was the overpayment caused by the claimant's willful false statement.(ironically - willfully is spelled incorrectly on all these forms).
My answer to this is I did not know about this until I received the letter. I had not collected unemployment for 25 years or so and I honestly didn't know I did anything wrong until I received the letter this year. I immediately looked into my 2017 files and found the pay stub and was surprised - The stub was dated Sept 7 and it appears that, yes, there was payment made for work done prior the start of school those weeks in August. To my recollection, there was a meeting with the Chair as well as some prep work on the kind of class I was to teach. I didn't officially start this new part-time teaching job till August 31st and in that week I did declare excessive earnings. But I did not willfully make a false statement. I didn't know I did anything wrong
Another one:
1257a . Did the claimant willfully make a false statement or willfully fail to report a material fact in order to obtain benefits.the answer to this is I did not willfully make a false statement. Being an adjunct that teaches at different schools that have different start dates for semesters can be confusing. And it was the first time teaching at that school. I was a last-minute hire so I didn't know all the ins and outs of that let alone the ins and outs of collecting unemployment benefits. I had no idea and certainly did not and would not intend to be paid benefits if I wasn't entitled to them.
And the last one:
1252/79 . Did the claimant perform services during or receive wages for the week(s) benefits were claimed.
I had to look up everything to remind myself what happened - and Per the pay stub, I did perform some hours - I was a last-minute hire and I must have been paid for some prep but my official teaching start date was August 31, 2017. But at the time, I did not know I did not fill out the benefits form incorrectly - From the moment I received the letter from the EDD, I called the them multiple times to set up something to pay it back and was told I had to wait to receive the letter - When I did receive the letter, it stated there was a 30% penalty on top of the 546 dollars and a 6 week hold on future benefits I only use my benefits when I receive no pay in the summer and it amounts to 6 weeks only so I was flabberghasted at the penalties for an honest mistake - this was not intentional on my part. And if I made an error, then I wanted to resolve it.
So I'd like to get your input on the above. I don't know if I'm being clear or saying too much one way or the other above. I'm trying to piece together what may have happened - the weeks prior to the August 31st and it appears I had a meeting there and I was putting together the class - but I was kind of thrown into it and truly didn't know. I have only tried to be honest and rectify this situation but the penalties for an honest mistake when the only unemployment I get is for six weeks in the summer will be an incredible hardship next year for me . Should I state that I'm not appealing the overpayment just the penalties and with explanation?
Thanks again for your input! Really appreciate it - I'm a bit nervous about the hearing. It's with Melissa Billet in case you've heard of that ALJ.
Every single thing you wrote is you groveling. Cut it out.
If you were not paid to do work for money during the dates in question, then you make your argument that you did NOTHING wrong. It is not your responsibility to figure out your employer's payroll system, and report based on the way the employer pays you so that it matches the reporting. Your only duty is to report WORK for MONEY. Now, unless you lied about it (which I took you at face value) then that is all you'll be discussing at this hearing.
No throwing yourself on a sword and begging for mercy. You make EDD prove that you worked for money. They can't do it. All they can prove is that you earned money. The employer will have to be there to testify that you were there working. You'll be able to throw up road blocks.
So I'd like to get your input on the above. I don't know if I'm being clear or saying too much one way or the other above. I'm trying to piece together what may have happened - the weeks prior to the August 31st and it appears I had a meeting there and I was putting together the class - but I was kind of thrown into it and truly didn't know. I have only tried to be honest and rectify this situation but the penalties for an honest mistake when the only unemployment I get is for six weeks in the summer will be an incredible hardship next year for me . Should I state that I'm not appealing the overpayment just the penalties and with explanation?
Thanks again for your input! Really appreciate it - I'm a bit nervous about the hearing. It's with Melissa Billet in case you've heard of that ALJ.
You need to appeal it all. What evidence is in your file that you were overpaid? They should have some document in there. But does that document show that you were paid for X work on X dates?
To prove you actually did work prior to when you started the semester - they would have to have actual evidence. They probably assumed, based on the date of the paycheck, that you did. Assuming is not proof. The fact is that even after hours of digging through your records and going over them again and again, you STILL can't figure out exactly what that pay was for. You are just assuming that it is probably for this or it could have been for that. You don't actually KNOW.
If the employer reported you worked X amount of hours on such and such dates earning X -- you probably would have heard about it long before you did. What is the document they are using as evidence to show you were overpaid?
You shouldn't be guessing about what you actually did wrong. You should take the position that you did nothing wrong. In this case, UI has to prove their case against you.
Your theory should be that you work at several different schools, each with different pay procedures. Schools have different pay procedures than other employers, as they don't pay precisely for the exact hours worked within a pay period after the pay period has ended. They use various formulas to break down full semester pays. The procedures on how they break down how you are paid in each semester are complicated, vary by school, and you don't fully understand them. Some schools issue paychecks the moment, or slightly before, the semester actually begins. Other schools wait until you have taught for several weeks before issuing a paycheck. But in the end it all works out to the fact that you get paid for the classes you taught, no matter how they break it down.
You actually start officially working the day your classes begin at the start of the semester. Your semester with the school in which the pay is in question started on August 31. As soon as the semester started, you began working, and reported your income to UI as required.
During the week in question, you were not officially working, as though teachers spend time prior to the semester preparing for classes, they are generally not considered to be actually working until the first day of class. At the time you submitted the weekly claim for the week in question, you did not consider yourself to be working, as the semester had not begun yet. At the time you submitted your claim, you were not even aware that you were going to be paid within that pay period. Even in retrospect you are not certain why you got paid the amount you did on September 7. You are not entirely clear on how that school breaks down their pays. However, your classes started August 31, you began working, and you reported your pay to UI.
The questions they ask will probably not be expressed as the direct issues.
They would most likely ask if you worked during the period in question.
Though you are most likely preparing for classes prior to the beginning of the semester - you were not generally considered to be working until the semester began (i.e. the first day of class).
" I was getting ready for the semester at ALL of the places I was teaching. However, I was not considered to be working yet."
Did you earn income that you did not report during that period?
"No. Though upon receipt of the over payment letter, I looked back and saw I was paid by one school on September 7, I am not entirely sure what that payment was for. Each school breaks down how they pay instructors differently. Some schools issue the first pay very early in the semester. Some schools issue the first pay much later. However, we are generally not considered to be earning our pay until the semester starts. The semester at that school started August 31. "
etc.. etc.. Some of the questions might not even come up.
But you really do want to look at the evidence before and see what they are using as evidence that you EARNED money that week.
Another thought came to me... One school paid a 10% "stipend" if you had signed a contract and the class was cancelled OR if you took on a class at the last minute. Is it possible that you were paid a payment for taking on the class at the last minute. That wouldn't be income earned during that period though. Once again, unless your contract specifically states your start date is before the semester starts, or the pay stub shows exactly what you were paid for, you are only guessing as to what that payment might be for.
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. Should I state that I'm not appealing the overpayment just the penalties and with explanation?
