is Umployment Insurance RE-compensation included in Bankruptcy?

[Scream2Death]

ok...this is the story, basically my state deemed the 8k i received in unemployment was not approved by my previous employer......so now i have to pay the 8k back...

can this 8k be part of bankruptcy filing?

[Flamingo]

This is the first time I have heard of this...hopefully someone can correctly answer your questoin. I don't think you can include incorrectly paid or overpaid unemployment payments from your State that needs to be paid back in a BK and have that amount discharged. If you filed a Chapter 13, the State could be a priority creditor and that amount paid back over the course of your Plan as would be done if you owed state taxes. It is probably not dischargeable in a Chapter 7. Again, maybe someone can help you further with this on here or get advice from an attorney.

May I ask if you were fired or laid off from your job; usually the state investigates if you are eligible or not before it approves you for that by checking with your employer as to your termination before checks go out.

[momof5]

I can actually help with this one (hopefully)

Except it was only $1500. It was listed in our petition but as a priority unsecured.Similar to how IRS debts are listed.You cannot delete the amount but it is also looked at by the trustee as an obligation. So depending on your filing chapter it may actually help you.
The UE people changed their mind with us after we filed and then decided that it did not need to be repaid. Its been a crazy process.But we are still out for many weeks following this that we are persuing.

Now heres the good news. If you file for a hearing(after $8000 you really should!)..which we did and are still in the process because my husbands ex employer are such idiots. (Once they found out we were bk'ing a loan with them for a $1,000 they decided to really fight the UE ) If we win my husband will receive nearly $4000 in back UE as the original $1500 is no longer an issue. The Trustee cannot touch it as its exempt. So heres to finger crossing.

EDIT TO ADD: WE ARE IN NEW YORK ALSO!

[Scream2Death]

This is the first time I have heard of this...hopefully someone can correctly answer your questoin. I don't think you can include incorrectly paid or overpaid unemployment payments from your State that needs to be paid back in a BK and have that amount discharged. If you filed a Chapter 13, the State could be a priority creditor and that amount paid back over the course of your Plan as would be done if you owed state taxes. It is probably not dischargeable in a Chapter 7. Again, maybe someone can help you further with this on here or get advice from an attorney.

May I ask if you were fired or laid off from your job; usually the state investigates if you are eligible or not before it approves you for that by checking with your employer as to your termination before checks go out.

it was a dumb mistake....i voluntarily left on my own and applied for unemployment benefits.....i honestly did not know back then....i thought you had these benefits as long you worked long enough.....

this was many years ago, when i was younger....now i am paying for it .....

i guess they took forever to contact my employer, because it was another six months AFTER i received all my benefits, that they said i wasn't allowed....

i am just lucky i didn't go to jail .....

[Scream2Death]

I can actually help with this one (hopefully)

Except it was only $1500. It was listed in our petition but as a priority unsecured.Similar to how IRS debts are listed.You cannot delete the amount but it is also looked at by the trustee as an obligation. So depending on your filing chapter it may actually help you.
The UE people changed their mind with us after we filed and then decided that it did not need to be repaid. Its been a crazy process.But we are still out for many weeks following this that we are persuing.

Now heres the good news. If you file for a hearing(after $8000 you really should!)..which we did and are still in the process because my husbands ex employer are such idiots. (Once they found out we were bk'ing a loan with them for a $1,000 they decided to really fight the UE ) If we win my husband will receive nearly $4000 in back UE as the original $1500 is no longer an issue. The Trustee cannot touch it as its exempt. So heres to finger crossing.

EDIT TO ADD: WE ARE IN NEW YORK ALSO!

but if it was my fault that i shouldn't have gotten the unemployment benefits....no point of including it in bk right?

[Flamingo]

You are dealing with with the State in this situation so I would certainly consult with an attorney and not play guessing games.

[momof5]

but if it was my fault that i shouldn't have gotten the unemployment benefits....no point of including it in bk right?

Your situation is a bit different than ours. It sounds like your way past your 30 days to even request a hearing with Unemployment. So now you are with this $8000 debt. (my husbands decision came in AFTER 4 weeks of having received payment)<------- your not the first person I have heard of this happening to. Why do they pay only to then determine your not eligible? They dont listen to employees sides of stories. What employers say is gospel. At least in the pre unemployment compensation legal hearing determination.

The thing with BK is you have to include ALL debts even the ones that legally cannot be discharged such as Unemployment repayment. If you file a 13 then they will figure the amount in your plan, if you file a 7 then its a unsecured priority debt that is added in as expenses like a car payment etc.


Thats to bad about the unemployment as its a substantial amount...at $405(New Yorks max amount) a week you must have been out for quite some time!
There are some legit reasons for voluntarily leaving a job. Unfortunately the initial determination is to deny benefits (usually after you start to get them so you think your safe) and then you request a hearing. Its fairly informal as its just my husband/owner of the company/admistrative law judge. They sit in a small room with a table and tape recorder. The law judge has one job and that is to determine if you should have qualified based on the facts. Its hard when there are two sides to the story. But my husband is confident that justice will prevail.

[AngelinaCat]

I left a position voluntarily--if you want to call it that. Many years ago I worked at a parochial high schooll and had for 14 years. They had some bad years with low enrollment so the budget was cut. I was the full-time Media Specialist. They cut that to 1/2 time and put me in the classroom for half the day, teaching computer applications and keyboarding. After two years of that I was told that I would be 1/2 time in the library, period. I commuted 60 miles round trip for that job. I couldn't justify that, much less make a car payment on what they offered, so I declined their 'generous' offer and filed for Unemployment. The ex-employer fought that, but the case worker assigned to my case, when reviewing it, told me: "You did NOT leave your job; it left YOU! What they offered you that you turned down was NOT your original job." I got my unemployment.

I hope this will help--if not you directly, hopefully someone else.

[CindyLou]

my brother included an overpayment to Louisiana state unemployment in his chapter 13. They never filed a claim and he never got another statement. It was for less than 1K.

[Scream2Death]

my brother included an overpayment to Louisiana state unemployment in his chapter 13. They never filed a claim and he never got another statement. It was for less than 1K.

thanks for the info, i shall bring it to the lawyer

[Scream2Death]

Your situation is a bit different than ours. It sounds like your way past your 30 days to even request a hearing with Unemployment. So now you are with this $8000 debt. (my husbands decision came in AFTER 4 weeks of having received payment)<------- your not the first person I have heard of this happening to. Why do they pay only to then determine your not eligible? They dont listen to employees sides of stories. What employers say is gospel. At least in the pre unemployment compensation legal hearing determination.

The thing with BK is you have to include ALL debts even the ones that legally cannot be discharged such as Unemployment repayment. If you file a 13 then they will figure the amount in your plan, if you file a 7 then its a unsecured priority debt that is added in as expenses like a car payment etc.


Thats to bad about the unemployment as its a substantial amount...at $405(New Yorks max amount) a week you must have been out for quite some time!
There are some legit reasons for voluntarily leaving a job. Unfortunately the initial determination is to deny benefits (usually after you start to get them so you think your safe) and then you request a hearing. Its fairly informal as its just my husband/owner of the company/admistrative law judge. They sit in a small room with a table and tape recorder. The law judge has one job and that is to determine if you should have qualified based on the facts. Its hard when there are two sides to the story. But my husband is confident that justice will prevail.

thanks for the info but i think i am wrong. I left voluntarily.....but hopefully i can get rid of it with bankruptcy, and thanks to everyone else