Several New York state Senate Democrats are calling for the state Department of Labor to forgive unemployment overpayments.
Hudson Valley state Senators James Skoufis, Shelley Mayer and Elijah Reichlin-Melnick are among the 12 lawmakers who signed a letter to state Labor Department Commissioner Roberta Reardon. They’re urging her to waive repayment obligations for thousands of New Yorkers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic who have received overpayments of unemployment benefits due to a state error. The senators say they are hearing from many constituents who received letters from the Department of Labor notifying them that they need to return thousands of dollars of what they believed were legitimate benefits.