These are strange times, and lots of people – in both the public and the private sector – are making things up as they go along. They’re improvising because they have to.
How are they to respond to a pandemic if there’s so much disagreement on what the proper response to it is, and widespread doubt as to whether or not there really is one?
Let’s not be petty. People exploiting the situation for power or profit should be dealt with severely when the crisis is over. Those just trying to survive as best they can should not be made more miserable.
This latter group would include the six Northern Panhandle substitute school employees who are now being dunned by WorkForce West Virginia for alleged overpayment of unemployment compensation.
“The Marshall County substitutes suffered job and wage loss like much of our state’s workforce has because of the COVID-19 pandemic,” asserts attorney Teresa Toriseva. “They were never sure when, or if ever, they would be called back to work. The unemployment benefits they received during this time were designed to assist them in just this sort of situation.”
Toriseva cites “an executive order signed by Governor (Jim) Justice specifically directing those funds are not to be taken back from these workers. The Marshall County substitutes,” she insists, “are asserting their rights to enforce the governor’s executive order and protect the funds that were paid to them during the pandemic.”
According to the plaintiffs, Gov. Justice’s executive order dictated that “WorkForce West Virginia shall not recover or attempt to recover unemployment benefits that were incorrectly but non-fraudulently distributed to claimants,” as was the case here.
“The overpayment received by plaintiffs were received without fault on their part as it was not necessarily assured that their employment would begin the following school year,” the plaintiffs argue. “Recoupment of this overpayment, considering the circumstances, would be against equity and good conscience considering the sacrifices and difficulty of all employed in the field of education.”
We agree. After all we’ve been through, let’s be generous.
