(1) You must repay the full amount of the overpayment, even if you are not at fault, unless you are granted a waiver. (See also WAC 192-230-110.) A waiver means you do not have to repay the overpayment.

(2) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, you are potentially eligible for a waiver of an overpayment when it would be against equity and good conscience for the department to require you to repay the full amount.

(3) You are not eligible for a waiver when:

(a) You are at fault for the overpayment;

(b) The overpayment is the result of a discharge for misconduct or gross misconduct (see RCW 50.20.066(5)), unless the discharge occurred during the time period beginning on February 2, 2020, and ending on September 4, 2021;

(c) ((The overpayment is the result of a conditional payment of benefits;

(d))) The overpayment decision was issued by a state other than Washington; or

(((e)))(d) The overpayment is for disaster unemployment assistance benefits paid under Section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.

The department will waive overpayments for federally funded benefits when:

(1) The individual answered "no" to being able to work and available for work and:

(a) The state paid Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, or Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation without adjudicating the eligibility issue;

(b) Upon requesting additional information from the individual, the individual either did not respond or the individual confirmed that they were not able to work nor available for work for the week in question; and

(c) The paid benefits resulted in an overpayment for that week.

(2) The individual answered "no" to being unemployed, partially unemployed, or unable or unavailable to work because of the approved COVID-19-related reasons provided in 15 U.S.C. § 9021 (a)(3)(A)(ii)(I) and:

(a) The state paid Pandemic Unemployment Assistance anyway;  

(b) Following a request from the department for a new self-certification, the individual either did not respond or the individual confirmed that none of the approved COVID-19-related reasons were applicable; and

(c) The state's payment of these benefits resulted in an overpayment for that week.

(3) The individual complied with instructions from the department to submit proof of earnings to be used in calculating the individual's Pandemic Unemployment Assistance weekly benefit amount and:

(a) Through no fault of the individual, the department's instructions were either inadequate or the department incorrectly processed this calculation using self-employment gross income instead of net income or documents from an inapplicable tax year, resulting in an incorrect higher Pandemic Unemployment Assistance weekly benefit amount; and

(b) The department established an overpayment for the difference in the individual's Pandemic Unemployment Assistance weekly benefit amount.

(4) The individual complied with instructions from the department to submit proof of earnings to be used in calculating the individual's Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation weekly benefit amount and:

(a) Through no fault of the individual, the department's instructions were either inadequate or the department incorrectly processed this calculation using self-employment gross income instead of net income or documents from an inapplicable tax year, resulting in an incorrect higher Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation weekly benefit amount; and

(b) The department established an overpayment for the difference in the individual's Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation weekly benefit amount.

(1) When a decision is issued that creates an overpayment, the department will send you an application for waiver if you are potentially eligible.

(2) The waiver application asks for information concerning your financial condition and other circumstances which will help the department determine if the overpayment should be waived.

(3) The financial information requested includes documentation for the previous month, current month, and following month of your:

(a) Income and, to the extent available, the income of other household members who contribute financially to the household;

(b) Expenses; and

(c) Readily available liquid assets including, but not limited to, checking and savings account balances, stocks, bonds, and cash on hand.

(4) The completed application and supporting documents must be returned to the department by the response deadline indicated in the notice, which will be no less than five working days plus reasonable mailing time, if any. If you do not provide the information by the deadline, the department will make a decision about your eligibility for waiver based on available information.

(5) A waiver cannot exceed the total amount of benefits available on your claim. The department will not waive the overpayment in such a way as to allow you to receive either a greater weekly benefit amount or a greater total benefit amount than you were originally eligible to receive. Any benefits waived are considered paid to you.

Example: You misplace a benefit check and request a replacement from the department. You subsequently cash both the original check and the replacement. Waiver will not be approved under these circumstances because you have been paid twice for the same week.

(6) If a waiver is approved based on information that is later found to be false or misleading, the amount waived will be restored to your overpayment balance.