(1) The department will decide if the employee is at fault for an overpayment based on information provided by interested parties and from the department's records. The employee will always be considered at fault when the overpayment is the result of fraud or nondisclosure.
(2) The employee may be considered at fault, even though all relevant information was provided before a decision was issued, when the employee should reasonably have known the payment was improper. The department may determine the employee is at fault for an overpayment when, for example:
(a) It is determined that the employee worked during the same hours for which the employee claimed paid family or medical leave; or
(b) A lower-level decision reversed by the office of administrative hearings, the commissioner, or a court causes an overpayment because of information that the employee did not disclose to the department.
(3) In deciding if the employee is at fault, the department may also consider factors which may affect the employee's ability to report all relevant information to the department.
[Statutory Authority: RCW
50A.04.215. WSR 19-16-081, § 192-640-025, filed 7/31/19, effective 8/31/19.]