(TNS) — Erica Martin’s 16-year-old daughter loves to play the French Horn in her Opelika, Ala., school band. But after Alabama demanded back $15,000 of the pandemic unemployment it paid Martin, she could barely pay the rent, let alone afford band fees.
“She was like, ‘Oh I’ve got band practice,’ and I had to sit her down and tell her I didn’t have it,” said Martin of the $400 the band cost.
Martin’s unemployment application was approved after her kids were sent home for virtual school in the spring of 2020. She is one of thousands of Alabamians who got paid unemployment during the pandemic, only to learn from the state that they’ve been “overpaid” and now owe money back.
Alabama reported overpaying over $164 million in unemployment in 2020 and 2021, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor.
The overpayments, which occurred in many states, are often the result of small mistakes. Instead of being addressed, the problems go unreviewed and appeals are not heard, according to a lawsuit brought against the department by Legal Services Alabama that asks a judge to require the department to improve its processes and ensure people get hearings on complaints within 30 days.
And people who feel they are now being billed in error say they can’t get anyone on the phone.
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