Tennessee has recovered more than half a million dollars in overpaid unemployment benefits and overdue taxes since joining a federal anti-fraud program in July, according to The Tennessean.
The $540,000 recovered so far will help lower employers’ unemployment insurance tax payments, the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development said.
Tennessee joined the federal Treasury Offset Program in July. The program allows states to intercept tax refunds, military pay and other federal payments to those who received more state unemployment benefits than they were eligible for or owed unemployment taxes.
Of the $540,000 collected in Tennessee so far, $436,000 was voluntarily repaid after the state notified those who owed money. The rest was taken from tax refunds, retirement pay, contractor/vendor payments or other federal payments.
Under the program, the state expects to recover as much as $17 million through intercepted federal tax refunds alone in the next several years.
The recovered money is put into Tennessee’s unemployment insurance trust fund, which is used to pay benefits.