No. 90CA2024Colorado Court of Appeals.
Decided January 30, 1992. Rehearing Denied March 12, 1992. Certiorari Denied August 3, 1992 (92SC198).
Review of Order from the Industrial Claim Appeals Office of the State of Colorado.
Colorado Rural Legal Services, Ann M. la Plante, Teresa Vaughn, for Petitioner.
Gale Norton, Attorney General, Raymond T. Slaughter, Chief Deputy Attorney General, Timothy M. Tymkovich, Solicitor General, Tony Arguello, Assistant Attorney General, for Respondents.
Division III.
Opinion by JUDGE DUBOFSKY.
[1] Paula M. Munoz-Navarette, claimant, seeks review of a final order of the Industrial Claim Appeals Panel which denied her request for waiver of the recovery of an overpayment of unemployment compensation benefits. We set aside the order. [2] Claimant lost her job in December 1988. She filed a claim for unemployment compensation that month and received benefits from December 1988 through March 1989. [3] The initial decision of the Labor Department granted claimant a full award of benefits from which the employer appealed. On that appeal, in March 1989, the referee reversed the Department’s earlier award of full benefits after determining that claimantPage 828
was disqualified and owed $2,586 for overpayment of benefits.
[4] Claimant then requested from the Labor Department a waiver as to the overpayment amount on the basis that she was presently financially unable to repay it and that her situation was not likely to improve in the foreseeable future. Claimant also requested a waiver of repayment because, on the basis of the receipt of the unemployment benefits, she had foregone applying for certain other governmental benefits. [5] Claimant submitted a certified document which demonstrated her economic situation at the time she requested waiver. The document indicated that claimant’s living expenses were significantly greater than her monthly income. [6] In initially denying claimant’s waiver request, the Labor Department told claimant that she had been informed on several occasions that if she received an overpayment, she would have to repay the money. Thus, the initial denial did not address the merits of claimant’s request for waiver. [7] Claimant appealed, and at a hearing, a Labor Department employee testified as to its reasons for denying claimant’s waiver request. She indicated that claimant had not met the Labor Department requirements for waiver because claimant had not demonstrated detrimental reliance or relinquishment of a valuable right because of her receipt of the unemployment benefits. The witness also testified that claimant was denied waiver because she was not retired and was otherwise able to work. She also noted that claimant had not applied for public assistance. [8] The witness indicated that the Labor Department denied waiver requests unless the claimant had actually applied for and had been denied public assistance, i.e., welfare benefits, food stamps, and rent subsidy. Absent such an application, the Department did not consider that there had been detrimental reliance on the unemployment compensation benefits. [9] The witness further indicated that, irrespective of the ratio of a claimant’s income compared to the expenses for her and her family, if, as here, a claimant is young and capable of working and earning money, then the Labor Department will not waive repayment of any overpaid unemployment compensation. The witness testified that, if a claimant is not on a fixed government income, she has control over how much money she can make and that, therefore, waiver is inappropriate. [10] Claimant testified she would have applied for food stamps and investigated rent assistance and utility assistance if she had not received unemployment benefits. She did not, however, formally apply for such benefits; nor did claimant present evidence which demonstrated she would have been eligible for these benefits without the unemployment compensation. [11] Claimant also submitted information concerning her economic situation as of the time of the hearing. This evidence indicated that during the school year, claimant made approximately $420 per month as a school bus driver, and in the summer, she earned approximately $225 per month working as a scorekeeper for baseball games. The documents indicated that her normal expenses would be in excess of $1,000 per month. Claimant also testified that she was in the process of obtaining a divorce and that a child support/maintenance award had not yet been entered. [12] Claimant testified that the unemployment compensation benefits she received were used to help pay the rent for December and January. She further testified that at that time, she had two small children and that some of the money was used for food and milk for her oldest child, whereas some was used for various bills, baby food and formula, diapers, powder, and baby clothing. She also testified that part of the money was used to help pay for utilities and rent as well as gas for her car. Furthermore, while she was looking for employment, she paid some of the money to a babysitter. She also used the money for medical expenses for her children. Claimant also testified that her husband was out of work during much of the time she was receiving the unemployment benefits. There was, however, record evidencePage 829
indicating that husband was out of work only for a brief part of this period.
[13] The Labor Department does not contend that the expenses listed by claimant were excessive or unreasonable. Therefore, it is uncontested that claimant spent her unemployment benefits for the necessaries of living for her and her children, i.e., food, rent, utilities, and medical expenses. The Labor Department employee testified, however, that in her view the expenditure of unemployment benefits by the claimant for necessary living expenses was not sufficient to justify a waiver. I.
[14] Claimant argues that because of her financial situation at the time of the repayment hearing and because she had spent all the unemployment money on necessary living expenses, it was inequitable, as a matter of law, for the referee and Panel not to waive the repayment of her unemployment compensation benefits. While we disagree with claimant that she was entitled to have her repayment obligation waived as a matter of law, we do conclude that proper consideration was not given to these factors by the referee and the Panel.
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[22] Since the referee and Panel did not address either the issue of claimant’s having spent the overpaid funds on basic necessities or her impoverished status at the time of the repayment hearing, the order cannot stand and the matter must be remanded for further proceedings. II.
[23] Claimant next argues that, since she testified that she did not apply for food stamps and rent subsidies, she has demonstrated detrimental reliance as a matter of law. We disagree with claimant on this issue, but since the case is being remanded for determination on other aspects of the case, we also remand for clarification on the question of detrimental reliance/estoppel.