An audit of the Louisiana Workforce Commission finds the agency made $2.9 million in payments that potentially violated both state and federal unemployment rules. Brent McDougall, Senior Analyst with the Louisiana Legislative Auditor said this is the fourth audit of LWC since the pandemic.
“But one of the main things that we found was that they made just under $900,000 worth of payments to individuals who were enrolled in multiple programs at the same time, for the same week,” said McDougall.
McDougall said the audit found cases where the overpayments had not been identified and cases to retrieve those overpayments have not been established yet. He said LWC already has already flagged some incidents of overpayment and is working with those individuals to recapture funds.
“Out report just identified the instances where they had not done that,” said McDougall.
McDougall said when you look at overall unemployment payments during the height of the pandemic, the overpayments are only a small percentage, and he acknowledges it was a very difficult time for the agency.
“And so, I think that overall, they are doing the best that they can, our office we always try to find areas where we can recommend things that can be made more efficient and effective,” said McDougall.
The audit found $898,000 in improper payments, almost two million of weekly benefits overpayment allowed during the period of February 2020 through April 2021, and almost $34,000 in duplicate payments.
LWC spokesperson Chris Fiore said while the agency acknowledges the mistake, they also had to implement a huge number of claims with little federal guidance.
“But we paid out almost $10 billion to people in need during the course of this pandemic, to make sure they could keep a roof over their head and food on the table. At the end of the day that’s a win for us,” said Fiore.
The audit found that three percent of the $10 billion paid out by LWC was in overpayments. Fiore said an overpayment of unemployment benefits happens in normal times also.
“And once those things happen, we have processes in place to recoup those funds, but we weren’t even operating in what anybody would consider a typical circumstance,” said Fiore.
Fiore said it’s important that LWC come to the aid of Louisianans. He said LWC is so much more than unemployment, they help put people to work but at the height of the pandemic…
“We were right there with the first responders. Right there helping to make sure our state weathered this storm like we’ve done so many times before,” said Fiore.
If you believe you might have received an overpayment of unemployment benefits Fiore said you can call LWC or check your My Hire account for notification.