§ 340.10 - Waiver of recovery of erroneous payments.

§ 340.10 Waiver of recovery of erroneous payments.

(a) When waiver of recovery may be applied. Section 2(d) of the Act provides that there shall be no recovery in any case where more than the correct amount of benefits has been paid to an individual or where payment has been made to an individual not entitled to benefits if, in the judgment of the Board:

(1) The individual is without fault; and

(2) Recovery would be contrary to the purpose of the Act or would be against equity or good conscience.

(b) Fault.

(1) Fault means a defect of judgment or conduct arising from inattention or bad faith. Judgment or conduct is defective when it deviates from a prudent standard of care taken to comply wih the entitlement provisions of the Act. Conduct includes both action and inaction. Unlike fraud, fault does not require a deliberate intent to deceive.

(2) Whether an individual is at fault in causing erroneous payments generally depends on all circumstances surrounding the erroneous payments. Among the factors the Board will consider are: the ability of the overpaid individual to understand the reporting requirements of the Act or to realize that he or she is being overpaid (e.g., age, comprehension, memory, physical and mental condition); the particular cause of benefit non-entitlement; and the number of claims on which the individual made erroneous statements.

(3) Circumstances in which the Board will find an individual at fault include but are not limited to:

(i) Failure to furnish information which the individual knew or should have known was material;

(ii) An incorrect statement made by the individual which he or she knew or should have known was incorrect (including furnishing an opinion or conclusion when asked for facts);

(iii) Failure to return a payment which the individual knew or should have known was incorrect.

(c) When recovery defeats the purpose of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act.

(1) The purpose of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act is to furnish some replacement for an individual's railroad earnings lost because of days of sickness or unemployment. The purpose of the Act is defeated when an erroneous payment is recovered from income and resources which the individual requires to meet ordinary and necessary living expenses. If either income or resources are sufficient to meet expenses, the purpose of the Act is not defeated by recovery of an erroneous payment.

(2) For purposes of this section, income includes any funds which may reasonably be considered available for the individual's use, regardless of source. Income to the individual's spouse or dependents is available if the spouse or dependent lived with the individual at the time waiver is considered. Types of income include, but are not limited to:

(i) Government benefits such as Black Lung, Social Security, Workers' Compensation, and Unemployment Compensation benefits;

(ii) Wages and self-employment income;

(iii) Regular payments such as rent or pensions; and

(iv) Investment income.

(3) For purposes of this section, resources include, but are not limited to, liquid assets such as cash on hand, the value of stocks, bonds, savings accounts, mutual funds, any accrual benefit payable by the United States of America or any other source.

(4) Whether an individual has sufficient income and resources to meet ordinary and necessary living expenses depends not only on the amount of his or her income and resources, but also on whether the expenses are “ordinary and necessary.” While the level of expenses which is “ordinary and necessary” may vary between individuals, it must be held at a level reasonable for an individual who is temporarily unemployed or incapacitated due to sickness. The Board will consider the discretionary nature of an expense in determining whether it is reasonable. Ordinary and necessary living expenses include:

(i) Fixed living expenses, such as food and clothing, rent, mortgage payments, utilities, maintenance, insurance (e.g., life, accident, and health insurance), taxes, installment payments, etc.;

(ii) Medical, hospitalization, and other similar expenses;

(iii) Expenses for the support of others for whom the individual is legally responsible; and

(iv) Miscellaneous expenses (e.g., newspapers, haircuts).

(5) Where recovery of the full amount of an erroneous payment would be made from income and resources required to meet ordinary and necessary living expenses, but recovery of a lesser amount would leave income or resources sufficient to meet expenses, recovery of the lesser amount does not defeat the purpose of the Act.

(d) When recovery is against equity or good conscience. Recovery is considered to be against equity or good conscience when a person, in reliance on such payments or on notice that such payment would be made, relinquished a valuable right or changed his or her position for the worse.

(e) Recoveries not subject to waiver.

(1) Where an amount is recoverable pursuant to section 2(f) of the Act from remuneration payable to an employee by a person or company, or where a lien for reimbursement of sickness benefits has arisen pursuant to section 12(o) of the Act, and in either case recovery is sought from a person other than the employee, no right to waiver of recovery exists.

(2) Where the amount recoverable is equal to or less than 10 times the current maximum daily benefit rate under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act it shall not be considered contrary to the purpose of the Act or against equity or good conscience to recover such payment. Consequently, the amount recoverable is not subject to waiver under this part.

(3) Where the amount recoverable is the result of an overpayment of benefits payable under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act due to entitlement to annuities under the Railroad Retirement Act for the same days for which benefits were payable, and recovery of such overpayment may be made by offset against an accrual of the annuities, it shall not be considered contrary to the purpose of the Act or against equity or good conscience to recover the erroneous payment by offset against such accrual. Consequently, the amount recoverable is not subject to waiver under this part.

(4) Where there exists accumulated Federal benefits payable by any executive agency of the United States, any amount recoverable which is equal to or less than the accumulated Federal benefits is not subject to waiver. Any amount recoverable which is greater than the identified accumulated Federal benefits may be considered for waiver in accordance with the provisions of this part and part 320 of this chapter.

[53 FR 2489, Jan. 28, 1988, as amended at 57 FR 1379, Jan. 14, 1992]