21,000 overpaid WA unemployment recipients won't have to repay the state

About 21,000 people in Washington state have learned that they won't have to pay back unemployment benefits they received during the pandemic. But that is not the case for thousands more.

Washington's Employment Security Department, in the frenzy of the early pandemic, granted unemployment payments that were sometimes too high, or went to people not properly qualified. This added up to a total of 136,000 people, according to the department.

This week the department said it is giving a blanket waiver to about 21,000 of the overpaid recipients, because they were not at fault for the overpayment. It is reviewing the rest of the cases and may dismiss more. People can be proactive by applying for a waiver later this month by going to the department's website (esd.wa.gov).

The department has been asking recipients to pay back the money, which sometimes amounts to thousands or tens of thousands of dollars.

Unemployment appeals are currently taking an average 233 days, partially because of low staffing levels.