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TX--Unemployment Benefits overpayment

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texasworker

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? TX

My prior employer and I disagreed on whether I was laid off or left voluntarily.
Initially, the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) sided with me and over the course of 10 weeks ended up paying me $2900 in unemployment compensation benefits.

My prior employer fought the payment through several commission hearings and rehearings and finally prevailed against me. I had no $ to go further in the court system.

I just started working again (after 5 months of no wages) and have received a letter from the TWC demanding that I repay the $2900.

Questions:
1. Does TX have the right to garnish wages for unemployment benefits overpayments?
2. Does TX typically resort to garnishment or do they withhold future unemployment or other benefits to offset the overpayment?
3. Can I refuse to pay based on their incorrect determination of that the unemployment was improperly paid?

Thanks!

Broke in Texas (but working my way back)
 


pameladelafield

Junior Member
overpaid unemployment

In Texas wages cannot be garnished except for child support. Texas doesn't even allow IRS garnishment of wages anymore. Texas cannot take any of your current wages but it might be able to take money out of a bank account. Most likely what the employment commission will do, is wait until you make another claim and take it out of that claim. Why did you give up on your claim? You would have won if you kept fighting.

Civil Practices & Remedies Code
"§ 63.004. CURRENT WAGES EXEMPT. Except as otherwise
provided by state or federal law, current wages for personal
service are not subject to garnishment. The garnishee shall be
discharged from the garnishment as to any debt to the defendant for
current wages."
 

texasworker

Junior Member
Thanks for the advice

seniorjudge:
Thanks for your response, terse and unhelpful as it was.

Dear pameladelafield:
Thanks for your insight on this. It's obvious that you spent some time looking up the law on this. Regarding pursuing the case further than I did: I exhausted the appeals through the TWC and upon the final review by their arbitration panel, it went 2-to-1 against me.
The next step would have been fighting this through the texas court system, but I was already unemployed and TWC stopped paying benefits after the arbitration panel made their decision. So I was faced with a double whammy: no job AND additional costs to pursue...

I will update this forum on any new events that come up.

Thanks again for your responses!

texasworker
 

pameladelafield

Junior Member
Unemployment benefits

If TWC contacts you and threatens you let me know. The top people at TWC know they cannot garnish your wages but the lower ones probably do not. I didn't spend anytime looking it up. I go after Texas agencies all the time and TWC really ticked me off once. The one thing TWC can do that most people do not know about, is collect wages. It has a staff of attorneys who go after employers who owe wages without charging the worker. Even if TWC collects wages for you, it still cannot keep the overpaid unemployment benefits.

Good luck,

Pam
 
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