Since 2021, Ben Kaufman has been in a fight over $7,000 in pandemic jobless benefits that the Washington Employment Security Department says he shouldn't have received and must repay.
The 35-year-old Tumwater man has endured threats of collections, hours on hold with the ESD help desk and a long, fruitless appeal.
So when Kaufman learned that, starting Friday, he and thousands of others with pandemic overpayments could formally ask the state to waive their debt, he was relieved, yet skeptical.
"I've just never been optimistic," said Kaufman shortly after filing a waiver request on the ESD website (st.news/waiver) Friday morning.
Roughly 115,000 Washingtonians facing $1 billion in pandemic benefit overpayments may be sharing Kaufman's sentiment.
Under a 2022 federal policy, the state can waive those debts, which can range from a few thousand dollars to $50,000 or more, if a new review finds that the claimant wasn't at fault for the overpayment.
The program, which went live at 9 a.m. on Friday, is getting tentative thumbs up for its scale and for ESD's efforts to broaden the criteria that could qualify claimants for waivers.
"It's a very big deal," said Anne Paxton of the Seattle- and Spokane-based Unemployment Law Project, which represents people who are denied unemployment benefits and which has criticized ESD's overpayment policies.
But the new waiver program faces numerous questions.
Last week, ESD was able to automatically waive $11.8 million in overpayment debt for 21,000 claimants. The agency canceled their debts and will refund any payments they'd made.
But for the remaining 115,000 workers, the situation will be far more difficult, in part because the more expansive waiver criteria pose challenges for both the agency and for individual claimants.
For example, ESD can now waive debt for claimants who lacked the language skills to fully understand the often-complicated claims process; or who didn't have access to a computer; or were unable to contact ESD with questions; or received "conflicting, changing or confusing communications" from the agency.
In all, ESD can consider 17 "equity and good conscience" factors in determining whether an overpayment of federal pandemic benefits can be waived — and the agency is asking the U.S. Department of Labor for authority to waive overpayments under additional criteria.
None of the new criteria will excuse claimants who engaged in fraud. Nor will they help claimants who were found "at fault" for overpayments because, for example, they failed to provide ESD with necessary or correct information even after being asked by the agency.
Still, with so many factors now under consideration, even potentially qualifying claimants may have little idea whether they're eligible or if it's even worth applying.
"If there is any question in your mind about whether you might qualify for a waiver, we encourage you to apply," said ESD Commissioner Cami Feek. "Every person's situation is different, and our agents will review applications on a case-by-case basis."
But that case-by-case review brings another challenge: It is so time-intensive that ESD's current staff would need at least three years to process the entire 115,000-person backlog, according to an agency estimate.
The agency may get reinforcements. State lawmakers are optimistic they will receive a requested $12 million for a dedicated overpayment team at ESD after House and Senate negotiators finalize the state budget later this month.
"I think it's pretty close to 'yes,'" said state Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Des Moines, who chairs the Senate committee that oversees ESD. "It's not a huge amount in ... a $40 billion budget."
Even with necessary funding, other concerns remain.
The agency still doesn't know how many of the 115,000 claimants could ultimately qualify for waivers because each case will have so many variables.
While some cases will be pretty cut and dried, many will require ESD staff to contact claimants for more information, said JR Richards, director of ESD's unemployment insurance customer-support division. "But until we start receiving the individual waivers, we're just not going to know what that population looks like."
Another, more critical unknown: What's to become of the potentially large number of claimants whose overpayments still can't be waived, even under the new criteria?
While ESD seems intent on maximizing eligibility — and while waiver denials can be appealed — policymakers and advocates alike worry that thousands of people could ultimately face significant debt.
"There are limitations to what ESD can do as an agency," said Lexy Salas, a campaign organizer with the labor advocacy group Working Washington. She and other advocates may try to push state and federal policymakers for more funds to help defray some of that nonwaivable debt.
For now, lawmakers, advocates and ESD staff are watching closely to see how many people apply and how smoothly the process goes.
Paxton and Salas said the new application form is more straightforward than earlier ones — a welcome sign for an agency often criticized for its hard-to-understand communications.
Observers also will be closely watching how well the agency manages the expected volumes of applications and of calls from applicants with questions.
On that score, at least one applicant has a minor complaint.
Shortly after Kaufman had finished his application Friday morning, he said his session on the ESD website timed out. "I had to go all the way back and fill it back in."
