Sec. 1. 26 MRSA §1051, sub-§11 is enacted to read:

11. Commissioner may negotiate settlement.__The commissioner is authorized to negotiate a settlement with a person who has been erroneously paid unemployment benefits.__As part of such a settlement, the commissioner may waive or restructure repayment of the erroneously paid unemployment benefits or any portion of those benefits.__This subsection does not affect the authority of the Maine Unemployment Insurance Commission to adopt rules with respect to unemployment insurance pursuant to section 1082, subsection 2.

SUMMARY

Under current law, the Maine Unemployment Insurance Commission may grant a waiver to a person for repayment of erroneously paid benefits, but the Commissioner of Labor has no such authority to negotiate a settlement for repayment of these benefits. This bill grants the commissioner the authority to negotiate settlements waiving or restructuring the repayment of all or any portion of erroneously paid unemployment benefits but does not affect the authority of the Maine Unemployment Insurance Commission to grant waivers.