Regsitered Employee in KY but collecting unemployment benefits in CA? PLEASE HELP (collect, file)

[Anthonygr80]

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[SIZE=3]PLEASE HELP WITH SOME ADVICE!! Please read below which I had submitted to Unemployment Appeals Judge on June 12, 2013:[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3]"I would liketo appeal the CA EDD Notice of Overpayment based off their Notice of Determination letterdecision dated 5-6-13 for unemployment benefits. I was working in Southern California but my paystub shows I was a registered Kentucky employee and paid Kentucky StateIncome tax to that state. I was notaware I couldn’t collect my California Unemployment benefits while registeredas an employee in Kentucky and collecting income in that state. Was Kentucky supposed to inform California ofemployment and why didn’t they do so? This appears to be an interstate clerical error on Kentucky’s end andCalifornia as well. I am not a frequentunemployment collector as some people are and from my past workexperience I have only collected unemployment benefits one other time prior tomy UI claim current claim in question and that was from August 2004 to March 2005.[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3]I do notwish to pay the penalty portion on this Notice of Determination because a “willfulfalse statement was not made nor was relevant information withheld” on my part. This was an interstate clerical error onKentucky’s end for not correctly informing California of employment. I did not have the specific intent to defraudand I did not know I couldn’t collect my earned California unemploymentbenefits while I was registered as an employee in Kentucky paying taxes to thatstate. I sincerely believed I wassubmitting a bonafide, honest claim on my end. If I recall from my last unemployment from August 2004 to March 2005,when I started working for that employer on March 7, 2005 my unemployment benefits wereimmediately cancelled by CA EDD. Since myunemployment benefits were not cancelled immediately on October 8, 2012 when Istarted with previous company I thought I could still collect them based off thefact that I was a registered employee of the state of Kentucky and paying stateincome tax to them. As you can see thisis a clerical issue on the part of Kentucky for not informing California of myemployment. I did not have the intent oncommitting fraud against California Unemployment and I didn’t provide a“willful false statement nor was relevant information withheld”. As I stated prior, I sincerely believed I wassubmitting a bonafide, honest claim on my end.[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3]That beingsaid, I would like to pay back the money I owe which I had tallied up to$11,700 but would like to dispute the penalty portion on the Noticeof Overpayment. I came up with agrand total of $11,700 based off the benefits I collected during my recent employment which began on October8, 2012 and ended on April 9, 2013"[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3]Now they are saying I owe $11,700 plus 30% and I am disqualified for 15 weeks from April 21, 2013 on collecting any new benefits. I will pay back the $11,700 but I would like to dispute the penalty portion of this and the disqualification period because in all honesty I did not know I couldn't collect benefits in CA while registered as employee in state of KY. What are my options? I had already appealed but I had a hearing on June 11 and the judge sided with CA EDD, but I want to appeal that decision. Please help because I need to have this appeal filed within 20 calendar days of June 13, 2013. Thank you in advance for any help you can provide.[/SIZE]
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[Chyvan]

First off, never agree to pay the UI people anything on an overpayment notice. 50% go uncollect because people just don't pay, file bankruptcy, or get waivers.

You put in what your appeal basis was, but you need to put in the decision from the judge. That is where you start.

Regardless of what your paystub says, the location of where the work is performed is generally the determining factor of where you apply. What's the breakdown on the $11,700 is it the entire amount you collected or just the difference between a KY benefit vs a CA benefit?

[Anthonygr80]

The judge sided with CA EDD and said I owe the $11,700 which was overpaid to me and he "surmised" I should of known to report to CA EDD my employment. I collected CA unemployment to tune of $11,700 while I was working for 6 months in CA.

I didn't know I couldn't collect CA EDD if my paystub shows I am a registered employee of state KY. I live in San Diego, but for some reason my paystub showed me as employee of state of LY paying taxes to that state not to CA.

I want to pay back 6 motnhs, $11,700 but not the penalty portion which over $3000 and then since they are saying I intentionally collected benefits I am disqualified for 15 weeks which is equal to almost $6000. What can I do? I am appealing the unemployment judges decision dated June 13, 2013. I "surmise" I should of known not to collect but as I said before this is second UI claim ever and I honestly did not know I couldn't collect CA benefits while registered in KY as an employee.

[Chyvan]

I still don't understand what the issue is. Did you work and collect benefits simultaneously? If so, that's why the penalty.

If it's because KY should have paid your claim and not CA, then you can get KY to pay the overpayment and backdate a claim for you.

[Anthonygr80]

Yes, I was working in California and was collecting CA benefits but only because my paystub stated I was a registered in KY and paying taxes to that state as opposed to CA. I had only been on unemployment one other time in my life in late 2004/early 2005 and that time when I became employed, CA EDD immediately stopped payments to me. I honestly did not know how unemployment works state to state and I though I could collect my earned CA unemployment benefits because I was registered as a KY state employee.

I had brought in my paystub from previous employer showing I was registered as a KY employee paying taxes into that state as opposed to CA. I also had read the following statement which I posted on first thread.

On my decision from the ALJ from 6-13-13 this is what it says:

UI Code 1252/1279: Decision is affirmed (I am ok with this decision because this has the week when I was working and collecting unemployment benefits which was early October through mid-April 2013)

UI Code: 1257(a): Disqualification for 15 weeks
This is what I am trying to appeal. During my appeal, I had showed, as evidence, the paystub showing I was a registered employee in state of KY, he stated on his decision I was working fulltime in KY and collecting benefits in CA when I actually was working fulltime in CA, however my paystub shows I am a KY employee. This is where the inconsistency was and led me to assume I can still collect in CA. This was an interstate clerical error on KY end for not informing CA or vice versa. He also put on his decision I have a college degree, "So, it is surmised that he would have been able to understand and provide accurate information to department. Therefore, it is concluded that I lacked an honest belief in truth of the matter reported. So it was with knowledge and thereby willful"

Just because I have a degree does not mean I should know the intricacies of unemployment filing considering I had only been on unemployment one other time and when I immediately received a job the benefits were stopped. I honestly thought I was filing a legitimate claim being that I was working in CA, however I was paying state taxes to KY as a registered KY employee. This is unique situation in my eyes and it isn't as black and white as may seem. There was an interstate clerical error and I didn't know I couldn't collect in CA. That being said, how can I dispute UI Code 1257(a), when it is a legitimate error? Please advise

UI Code 1375 & 1375.1 Overpayment = $12,600 & Penalty Assessment = $3,780
I am fine with paying back the overpayment because that is money that was given to me when it was determined that it shouldn't have been and as I stated above, I was ok with their decision on UI Code 1252/1279. What I have a problem with is the penalty assessment portion at $3,780 and how to dispute this? I know this also ties into what I wrote on UI Code 1257(a). I did not try an defraud CA and I did not provide a willful false statement. How can I prove innocence on this and try and fight the overpayment assessment as the disqualification of 15 weeks? I had only been on unemployment once in my lifetime prior to that and I did not know how this works, I believed I had filled out an honest claim.

[Anthonygr80]

Please read below which I had submitted to Unemployment Appeals Judge on June 12, 2013:

"I would like to appeal the CA EDD Notice of Overpayment based off their Notice of Determination letter decision dated 5-6-13 for unemployment benefits. I was working in Southern California but my paystub shows I was a registered Kentucky employee and paid Kentucky State Income tax to that state. I was not aware I couldn’t collect my California Unemployment benefits while registered as an employee in Kentucky and collecting income in that state. Was Kentucky supposed to inform California of employment and why didn’t they do so? This appears to be an interstate clerical error on Kentucky’s end and California as well. I am not a frequent unemployment collector as some people are and from my past work experience I have only collected unemployment benefits one other time prior to my UI claim current claim in question and that was from August 2004 to March 2005.

I do not wish to pay the penalty portion on this Notice of Determination because a “willful false statement was not made nor was relevant information withheld” on my part. This was an interstate clerical error on Kentucky’s end for not correctly informing California of employment. I did not have the specific intent to defraud and I did not know I couldn’t collect my earned California unemployment benefits while I was registered as an employee in Kentucky paying taxes to that state. I sincerely believed I was submitting a bonafide, honest claim on my end. If I recall from my last unemployment from August 2004 to March 2005,when I started working for that employer on March 7, 2005 my unemployment benefits were immediately cancelled by CA EDD. Since my unemployment benefits were not cancelled immediately on October 8, 2012 when I started with previous company I thought I could still collect them based off the fact that I was a registered employee of the state of Kentucky and paying state income tax to them. As you can see this is a clerical issue on the part of Kentucky for not informing California of my employment. I did not have the intent on committing fraud against California Unemployment and I didn’t provide a “willful false statement nor was relevant information withheld”. As I stated prior, I sincerely believed I was submitting a bonafide, honest claim on my end.

That being said, I would like to pay back the money I owe which I had tallied up to $12,600 but would like to dispute the penalty portion on the Notice of Overpayment. I came up with a grand total of $12,600 based off the benefits I collected during my recent employment which began on October 8, 2012 and ended on April 9, 2013"

Now they are saying I owe $12,600 plus 30% and I am disqualified for 15 weeks from April 21, 2013 on collecting any new benefits. I will pay back the $12,600 but I would like to dispute the penalty portion of this and the disqualification period because in all honesty I did not know I couldn't collect benefits in CA while registered as employee in state of KY. What are my options? I had already appealed but I had a hearing on June 11 and the judge sided with CA EDD, but I want to appeal that decision. Please help because I need to have this appeal filed within 20 calendar days of June 13, 2013. Thank you in advance for any help you can provide.

[Chyvan]

Are you saying that you thought it was ok to collect unemployment benefits from CA, and work a job in KY at the same time?

Just so you know, once you have the hearing with a judge, your options are limited. You don't get another chance to prove your innocence. You have to work with the facts in the recording/transcript of your hearing and the findings of fact in your decision.

I'm pretty sure the weekly questions you answered had one along the lines of "did you earn any money?" It was your responsibility to answer that question correctly, and I'm sure weighed heavily as to why you received a "false statement" penalty.

[Anthonygr80]

I did answer NO to question about whether I earned money because I thought that question pertained to earning money as a registered CA employee paying taxes into that state. The paystub reflecting KY as registered state was what caused me to believe this. It was a honest mistake and I just want to try and prove my actual intent was not to defraud or withhold info.

Based on what I had submitted to ALJ on 6-12-13 on thread #6 in bold, what issues do you see in my statement? I had read the statement during the proceedings so that was pretty much all I said. Didn't answer that many questions which weren't already answered on statement.

[Ariadne22]

The foregoing are the most creative excuses I've heard yet for unemployment fraud.

Further, the immaturity, sense of entitlement, and unwillingness to accept personal responsibility leaves me wondering why CA isn't prosecuting you criminally.

1. "It's KY's fault for not reporting to CA." What????
2. "I thought because I was paying taxes in KY, I could still collect benefits from CA." What????

One does not need to be an experienced beneficiary of unemployment benefits to know that unemployment benefits are paid when you are unemployed - not when you are working. You are educated enough to know not to assume what happened in 2004 - eight years ago - would happen again in 2012.

You are literate. You can read. The claim form asks "Did you work, or earn any money?" Simple question. Nowhere on the form or in the CA handbook does it state "Did you work or earn any money in the State of California." Or, "work or wages earned in another state are excluded." If it were the case, CA would have said so. Absolutely.

You are extremely lucky this happened in CA. Another state like Texas, AZ, NC, etc. might very well have you in court for unemployment fraud. It appears, based on the penalties, CA was within an inch of doing that. Consider yourself fortunate all CA wants from you is money.

[Chyvan]

Plus, there is the other questions like: Did you look for work? (were you still doing that while working full time) Were you available for work? (would have have actually been able to accept CA employment if offerred to you while working the full-time KY job)

I'm not going to tell you that you can't appeal this to the next level. Just understand it's going to be a real stretch to convince anyone that you didn't think that KY or another state's wages didn't count. Then again, the fact that you went in there with your KY paystub's does suggest you really were clueless. Since you were performing the KY work in CA, you'd have had a much better chance saying, "I did no work, I've been in CA the whole time, and these KY wages are from some identify thief or illegal using my documents."