2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 8 - LABOR AND INDUSTRY (§§ 8-1-101 — 8-88-207) › LABOR III - EMPLOYMENT SECURITY (§§ 8-70-101 — 8-82-105) › Article 81 - PENALTIES AND ENFORCEMENT (§§ 8-81-101 — 8-81-103) › Section 8-81-101 - Penalties

(1)
(a)
Any person who makes false statement or representation of a material fact knowing it to be false, or knowingly fails to disclose a material fact, with intent to defraud by obtaining or increasing any benefit under articles
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to
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of this title 8 or under an employment security law of any other state, of the federal government, or of a foreign government, either for himself, herself, or for any other person commits a class 2 misdemeanor.
(b)
Any person who, in the opinion of the division, has received a benefit to which he was not entitled by reason of his false representation or failure to disclose a material fact with intent to obtain or increase any benefit for himself or any other person and his trial by court is prevented by the inability of the court to establish its jurisdiction over said person shall be ineligible to receive any benefits under articles
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to
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of this title from the date of the discovery of the said act until such time as he makes himself available to the court for trial.
(c)
If any employer makes or causes to be made a false statement as to the reason for a claimant's separation from employment or makes or causes to be made a false offer of work to a claimant, which statement or offer shall result in a delay in the payment of benefits to any such claimant, such employer shall be penalized by having his account charged with one and one-half times the amount of benefits due during the period of the delay and with one hundred percent of all other benefit payments paid to the claimant thereafter during his current benefit year, any other provisions of articles
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to
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of this title to the contrary notwithstanding, and the claimant shall be compensated by being paid one and one-half times his weekly benefit amount for the period of the delay. "The period of delay" as used in this section shall be determined by the division, and such determination shall be binding upon all parties affected and shall not be subject to review. The penalty imposed by this paragraph (c) shall be in addition to and not in lieu of any other penalty, civil or criminal, provided in articles
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to
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of this title.
(2)
Any employing unit, or any officer or agent of an employing unit, or any other person who makes a false statement or representation knowing it to be false or who knowingly fails to disclose a material fact either to cause an individual to receive benefits to which such individual is otherwise not entitled or to defraud an individual by preventing or reducing the payment of benefits to which such individual would otherwise be entitled, or to avoid becoming or remaining a subject employer, or to avoid or reduce any premium, surcharge, or other payment required from an employing unit under articles
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to
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of this title 8 or under the employment security law of any other state, the federal government, or a foreign government or any such employing unit, officer or agent, or other person who willfully fails or refuses to pay any such premiums or surcharges or make any other payment, or to furnish any reports required under section
8-72-107
, or to produce or permit the inspection or copying of records as required under section
8-72-107
commits a class 2 misdemeanor. Each false statement or representation or failure to disclose a material fact and each day such failure or refusal continues shall constitute a separate offense.
(3)
Any person who willfully violates any provision of articles
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to
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of this title 8 or any rule or regulation thereunder, the violation of which is made unlawful or the observance of which is required under the terms of articles
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to
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of this title 8 and for which a penalty is neither prescribed in this article 81 nor provided by any other applicable statute commits a petty offense.
(4)
(a)
(I)
Any person who has received any sum as benefits under articles
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to
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of this title 8 to which the person was not entitled may be required to repay such amount to the division for the fund. Such sum shall be collected in the manner provided in section
8-79-102
; except that the division may waive the repayment of an overpayment if the division determines such repayment to be inequitable. Repayment is inequitable when:
(A)
The person who received the overpayment is receiving or has received any of the following public assistance benefits in the twelve months prior to the division providing notice to the person of the overpayment: Federal supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits, temporary assistance to needy families benefits, federal supplemental security income, social security disability benefits received after any unemployment insurance benefits were paid, means-tested legal aid services, benefits from the low-income energy assistance program created in section
26-2-122.5
, federal or state earned income tax credits, free or reduced-price school lunch benefits, public or subsidized housing benefits, medicaid benefits under the medical assistance program, articles
4
to
6
of title
25.5
, or medicare benefits;
(B)
The person's household income, exclusive of public assistance benefits, during the three months prior to the overpayment determination, was at or below four times the federal poverty guidelines determined by the United States department of health and human services under the authority of
42 U.S.C. sec. 9902 (2)
;
(C)
The person needs much of the person's current income to meet ordinary and necessary living expenses and liabilities, including housing, food, school loans, child care, outstanding loan and credit card balances, transportation, and medical expenses;
(D)
Due to the notice that the benefit payment would be made or because of the incorrect payment the person either relinquished a valuable right or changed positions for the worse, including if: The person incurred a financial obligation, such as a lease, based on benefit payments that the person received; the person relied on the benefit payment and took out a loan, in which the person has already invested the benefit payment received and repayment of the overpayment will cause the person to default on the loan, resulting in criminal or civil actions; or the person declined other financial assistance because the person received benefits under articles
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to
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of this title 8 and thought the person would not need additional financial assistance from other sources;
(E)
The overpayment was caused, at least in part, by an error by the division or by the person's reliance on the division's publicized information or guidance that was later determined to be erroneous; or
(F)
Any other reason the division finds sufficient to establish that repayment would be inequitable.
(I.5)
The division shall, to the extent possible, review and waive the repayment of an overpayment at the time the overpayment is determined if the division has sufficient information to determine that the repayment would be inequitable. If the division does not have sufficient information in its possession to make such a determination, the division shall notify the person of the right to request a waiver of the overpayment and the process for such a request. The division shall accept copies of relevant bills, receipts, award letters, bank statements, and all other reasonable forms of proof that repayment would be inequitable. If a person cannot provide documentation, the division may accept as sufficient proof a written statement signed by the person seeking to waive the overpayment attesting to the facts at issue.
(II)
If any person receives an overpayment because of the person's false representation or willful failure to disclose a material fact, inequitability must not be a consideration in any civil, administrative, or criminal action, and the person shall pay to the division the total amount of the overpayment plus a sixty-five percent monetary penalty. Of the monetary penalty, the division shall pay twenty-three percent into the unemployment compensation fund, created in section
8-77-101
, and the remainder into the unemployment revenue fund, created in section
8-77-106
. In addition, the person may be denied benefits, when otherwise eligible, for a four-week period for each one-week period in which the person filed claims for or received benefits to which the person was not entitled. The provisions of section
13-80-108 (9)
shall be used for determining when an offense is committed for the purposes of this subsection (4)(a)(II). For purposes of this subsection (4)(a)(II), a person has not received an overpayment because of the person's false representation or willful failure to disclose a material fact if: The person provided all information requested by the division correctly, but the division failed to take appropriate action with that information or took delayed action when determining or redetermining eligibility; the person provided incorrect information due to conflicting, changing, or confusing information or instructions from the division; the person was unable to reach the division despite the person's best efforts to inquire or clarify what information the person needed to provide, or experienced other similar barriers, including that it was the person's first time applying for or receiving unemployment benefits, or the person experienced language, education, or literacy barriers; or the person's employer provided the person with incorrect or untimely information or did not timely report facts.
(III)
All investigative costs awarded by the court and collected by the division in connection with the conviction, in any criminal action, of a person who has received any overpayment because of his or her false representation or willful failure to disclose a material fact shall be paid into the unemployment revenue fund.
(IV)
The penalties associated with an overpayment pursuant to subparagraph (II) of this paragraph (a) shall be made known to individuals upon filing an unemployment claim as defined in section
8-70-112
.
(b)
Pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated by the director of the division, the division may write off all or a part of the amount of any overpayment which it finds to be uncollectible or the recovery of which it finds to be administratively impracticable. Amounts which remain uncollected for more than five years, or seven years for overpayments due to false representation or willful failure to disclose a material fact, may be written off as uncollectible.
(c)
Any person aggrieved by a determination of the division made under this subsection (4) may appeal that determination and obtain a hearing before a hearing officer with the right to further appeal as provided by article
74
of this title. The initial appeal must be received within twenty calendar days after the date of notification of such determination by the division; otherwise, the determination shall be final.
(d)
Upon final determination pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subsection (4), repayment of an overpayment that is a result of the individual's false representation or willful failure to disclose a material fact pursuant to subparagraph (II) of paragraph (a) of this subsection (4) shall be made within thirty days.
(e)
The division shall not attempt to recover an overpayment until there is a final determination that the debt is in fact owed and all appeals are exhausted. The division shall not attempt to recover an overpayment when there is a pending waiver application until there is a final determination that the person is not eligible for a waiver and all appeals are exhausted.
Amended by 2022 Ch. 224, § 11, eff. 5/25/2022.
Amended by 2021 Ch. 462, § 99, eff. 3/1/2022.
Amended by 2013 Ch. 97, § 2, eff. 8/7/2013.
L. 36, 3rd Ex. Sess.: p. 47, § 16. CSA: C. 167A, § 16. L. 39: p. 581, § 12. L. 41: p. 800, § 16. L. 51: p. 821, § 14. CRS 53: § 82-11-1. L. 63: p. 682, § 10. C.R.S. 1963: § 82-11-1. L. 65: p. 847, § 10. L. 67: p. 73, §§ 1, 2. L. 69: p. 671, § 10. L. 77: (1)(a) amended, p. 478, § 3, effective July 1; (4)(b) R&RE, p. 478, § 4, effective July 1; (4)(c) added, p. 479, § 5, effective July 1. L. 79: (4)(a) and (4)(c) amended, p. 355, § 24, effective September 30. L. 81: (2) and (4)(a)(I) amended, p. 507, § 28, effective July 1; (4)(a)(I) and (4)(b) amended, p. 487, § 15, effective July 1. L. 83: (4)(a) amended, p. 433, § 13, effective June 3; (4)(d) added, p. 438, § 1, effective June 15. L. 84: (2) amended and (4) R&RE, pp. 319, 320, §§ 12, 13, effective July 1. L. 86: (4)(a)(II) amended, p. 703, § 10, effective July 1; (4)(b) and (4)(c) amended, p. 496, § 108, effective July 1. L. 86, 2nd Ex. Sess.: (4)(c) amended, p. 56, § 4, effective August 15. L. 90: (4)(a)(II) amended, p. 608, § 6, effective April 16. L. 92: (4)(b) amended, p. 1796, § 9, effective April 10. L. 2000: (4)(a)(II) amended and (4)(a)(III) added, p. 815, § 4, effective July 1. L. 2002: (4)(c) amended, p. 340, § 14, effective April 19. L. 2007: (4)(c) amended, p. 805, § 8, effective August 3. L. 2009: (2) amended, (HB 09-1363), ch. 1909, p. 1909, § 35, effective July 1. L. 2011: (4)(a)(IV) and (4)(d) added, (HB 11-1288), ch. 932, p. 932, §§ 16, 17, effective July 1. L. 2013: (4)(a)(II) amended, (HB 13 -1124), ch. 312, p. 312, § 2, effective August 7.
Section 803(2) of chapter 462 (SB 21-271), Session Laws of Colorado 2021, provides that the act changing this section applies to offenses committed on or after March 1, 2022.