Iowa Admin. Code r. 871-25.9

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 6, September 18, 2024

Rule 871-25.9 - Administrative penalties

(1) When, subsequent to the filing of a valid claim, it has been determined that within the preceding 36 calendar months the claimant fraudulently reported or failed to report wages earned during a week, or failed to disclose a material fact upon separation from employment from such claimant's most recent employing unit or employer, with intent to obtain benefits, or failed to disclose a material fact concerning any claimant's ability to work, availability for work, or any other eligibility requirements, with intent to obtain benefits, such claimant shall forfeit all unemployment insurance benefits for the week in which the determination is made and for a period of not more than such claimant's remaining benefit year.

(2) Penalties.

a. Any penalties imposed by this rule shall be in addition to those imposed by Iowa Code section 96.16.

b. The general guide for disqualifications for deliberate falsification for the purpose of obtaining or increasing unemployment insurance benefits is listed below. It is intended to be used as a guide only and is not a substitute for the personal subjective judgment of the investigator because each case must be decided on its own merits. The administrative penalty recommended for falsification ranges from three weeks through the end of the benefit year. The department shall also consider the filing of fraud charges whenever an administrative penalty is imposed against a claimant. If the same offense is repeated, loss of benefits through the end of the benefit year will result.

c. The department shall issue a determination which sets forth the specific penalty being applied.

(1) The degree and severity of penalty shall be determined at the discretion of the investigator and shall be based upon the nature of the offense and the facts.

(2) The determination shall be based on the facts obtained and shall become final within ten days after the decision was mailed to the claimant's last-known address, unless an appeal is made to the department by the filing of a notice of appeal at any office of the department of workforce development. Timeliness shall be determined by postmark within ten calendar days from the date of mailing shown on the decision or be received by the department within ten calendar days from the date of mailing.

(3) Sources of information concerning the application of an administrative penalty shall be the same as those pertaining to fraud and overpayment, namely:

a. Employer report of wages, with comparative analysis of them with concurrent benefit payments.

b. Local office obtaining late reports by claimant of deductible income items or potentially disqualifying circumstances.

c. Tips and leads from other sources of claimant being employed while claiming benefits or that such claimant did not otherwise meet the eligibility requirements.

d. Cross-checking of information on death tapes from the vital statistics section, division of administration, department of public health.

e. Review of claims using social security numbers not issued by the social security administration.

f. Cross-checking of information from the Iowa centralized employer registry.

g. Cross-checking of information with the National Directory of New Hires.

h. Cross-checking of information on incarcerated individuals from the Iowa department of corrections.

i. Cross-checking of information with fraud detection tools identified by the department.

(4) The claimant shall be notified of the possible application of the administrative penalty by Form 65-5315, Notice of Unemployment Insurance Fact-Finding Interview, in the same manner a claimant is notified of a possible overpayment.

(5) If the claimant wishes to invoke the right to remain silent, the investigator can require the claimant to answer all pertinent questions. However, the claimant cannot be prosecuted on the basis of any transaction, matter, or event concerning which the claimant is compelled to testify or produce evidence after the individual has claimed the privilege against self-incrimination.

(6) The claimant shall be afforded an opportunity to give testimony, either refuting or affirming the allegation of intent to defraud and may be represented by legal counsel at such hearing.

(7) Rescinded IAB 10/15/03, effective 11/19/03.

(8) In the event any claimant is aggrieved by the representative's determination assessing an administrative penalty or by the severity of the penalty assessed, such claimant shall have the same protest and appeal rights as provided for all other determinations involving a denial of benefits.

(9) A criminal conviction of a claimant for fraud or an order of the court requiring restitution for the amount of the overpayment shall not preclude the investigation and recovery unit from also imposing an administrative penalty denying further benefits to the claimant for a period of time not to exceed the remainder of said claimant's benefit year and including the week in which such determination is made by the investigation and recovery unit.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code sections 96.5(8), 96.11(1), and 96.11(10).

Iowa Admin. Code r. 871-25.9

Amended by IAB May 23, 2018/Volume XL, Number 24, effective 6/27/2018