Skip to main content
Find a Lawyer

Pennsylvania Statutes Title 43 P.S. Labor § 874. Recovery and recoupment of compensation

Current as of January 01, 2025 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

(a) Any person who by reason of his fault has received any sum as compensation under this act to which he was not entitled, shall be liable to repay to the Unemployment Compensation Fund to the credit of the Compensation Account a sum equal to the amount so received by him and interest at the rate determined by the Secretary of Revenue as provided by section 806 of the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L. 343, No. 176),  1 known as “The Fiscal Code,” per month or fraction of a month from fifteen (15) days after the Notice of Overpayment was issued until paid.  Such sum shall be collectible (1) in the manner provided in section 308.1 or section 309 of this act,  2 for the collection of past due contributions, or (2) by deduction from any future compensation payable to the claimant under this act:  Provided, That interest assessed under this section cannot be recouped by deduction from any future compensation payable to the claimant under this act:  Provided further, That no administrative or legal proceedings for the collection of such sum shall be instituted after the expiration of ten years following the end of the benefit year with respect to which such sum was paid.

(b)(1) Any person who other than by reason of his fault has received with respect to a benefit year any sum as compensation under this act to which he was not entitled shall not be liable to repay such sum but shall be liable to have such sum deducted from any future compensation payable to him with respect to such benefit year, or the three-year period immediately following such benefit year, in accordance with the provisions of this paragraph.

(i) With respect to overpayments of one hundred dollars or more, recoupment from such future compensation shall not exceed one-third of the maximum benefit amount to which such person is entitled during any such subsequent benefit year nor one-third of the weekly benefit amount to which such person may be entitled for any particular week.

(ii) If an overpayment is established under this paragraph, an employer is assigned charges for the overpayment under section 302(a)(2) of this act   3 and the determination assigning charges to the employer is final, an amount equal to the amount charged to the employer shall be applied as a credit toward the person's overpayment.  The provisions of this subparagraph shall not apply to an overpayment to which subparagraph (iii) applies.

(iii) In the absence of misrepresentation or non-disclosure of a material fact, no recoupment shall be had if such overpayment is created by reason of:

(A) a subsequent reversal of two decisions of eligibility under the provisions of section five hundred one (e) of this act;  4

(B) the subsequent receipt of holiday pay, vacation pay or the like of which the person had no knowledge;  or

(C) a subsequent determination that the person's base year wages were not earned in employment as defined in this act.

(iv) No provision of this subsection shall be construed to prevent or prohibit the voluntary repayment of compensation by such person or the maintenance of records of overpayments by the department.

(2) The claimant and other affected parties shall be notified in writing of the department's determination to deduct any sum from future compensation under this section, and such determination shall be subject to appeal in the manner provided in this act for appeals from determinations of compensation.

(3) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this subsection, any person who has received or employer who has made a back wage payment pursuant to an award of a labor relations board arbitrator or the like without deduction for unemployment compensation benefits received during the period to which such wages are allocated shall notify the department immediately of the receipt or payment of such back wage award.  The recipient of such back wage award, made without deduction for unemployment compensation benefits received during the period, shall be liable to pay into the Unemployment Compensation Fund an amount equal to the amount of such unemployment compensation benefits received.

(c) Any person who provides to the department a check which is dishonored shall be charged a penalty of one hundred per centum (100%) of the face value of the check, up to a maximum of one hundred dollars ($100) with a minimum of ten dollars ($10) per occurrence for all dishonored checks or such other amounts as shall be determined by the secretary and published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin as a notice under 45 Pa.C.S. § 725(a)(3) (relating to additional contents of Pennsylvania Bulletin).

1  72 P.S. § 806.
2  43 P.S. §§ 788.1, 789.
3  43 P.S. § 782.
4  43 P.S. § 821(e).
Previous Part of Code Next Part of Code
Back to Chapter List

Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Pennsylvania Statutes Title 43 P.S. Labor § 874. Recovery and recoupment of compensation - last updated January 01, 2025 | https://codes.findlaw.com/pa/title-43-ps-labor/pa-st-sect-43-874/

FindLaw Codes may not reflect the most recent version of the law in your jurisdiction. Please verify the status of the code you are researching with the state legislature before relying on it for your legal needs.

Was this helpful?

Welcome to FindLaw's Cases & Codes

A free source of state and federal court opinions, state laws, and the United States Code. For more information about the legal concepts addressed by these cases and statutes, visit FindLaw’s Learn About the Law.

Go to Learn About the Law

Latest Blog Posts

For Legal Professionals

Learn About The Law

Get help with your legal needs

FindLaw’s Learn About the Law features thousands of informational articles to help you understand your options. And if you’re ready to hire an attorney, find one in your area who can help.

Go to Learn About the Law

Need to Find an Attorney?

Search our directory by legal issue

Enter information in one or both fields (Required)

Copied to clipboard