J uly 7, 1993 • T he P ortland O bserver P age A4 News From The Oregon Department Of Veterans’ Affairs Legal Aid Series Nine: Overpayments The welfare bureaucracy is large, its rules can be confusing and sometimes mistakes are made. Even by welfare. If you gel more welfare assistance than you deserve, you have to pay it back. You should know your rights and options before welfare comes after you. Getting public assistance, such as A id to Families with Depen­ dent Children, to which you arc not entitled is called an overpayment. Getting food stamps you don’ t have coming iscalled overissuance. These are both considered a debt you owe to the State o f Oregon. An overpay­ ment is figured by subtracting the amount o f benefits you should get from the amount you actually re­ ceive. Overpayments happen be­ cause either people on welfare fai 1 to report income or c ire umstances they should have, or the welfare worker sim ply makes a mistake. Whatever the reason, anyone on the grant at the time o f overpayment is respon­ sible for paying back the extra. I f you’re on ADC, and you gettoomuch.itdoesn’t matter whose fault it was. I t ’s s till considered an overpayment and you have to give it back. A ll o f it. I f you’ re owed backpayments, they’ ll be used to pay o ff the debt. You won’ t have to pay it back at once and there are on your food stamps unless you agree to let them do it. I f the bureau­ cracy made the error, you may agree to pay o ff the debt in monthly in ­ stallments or let them cut back on your food stamps until the debt is cleared. But they cannot force a reduction in food stamps, or slap you with penalties for not paying back the overissuance. If, however, it was your fault, welfare may cut your monthly food stamps by 10 percent or $10, whichever is more, or in the case o f fraud, by 20 percent or $ 10, w hich­ ever is more. Any back food stamps owed you can also be used to pay the debt, along with your state tax re­ funds. Welfare may let you use cash or food coupons io pay o ff debt in three years. I f that’ s not long enough to pay it back, ask welfare to reduce your debt. And if you can’ t afford the payments, ask for a new pay­ ment plan. Remember, unless you ask for a payment plan, welfare w ill automatically cut your food stamps by 10 to 20 percent. But they cannot use food stamps to pay back ADC overpayment, or use you AD C to pay back food stamp overissuance. Throughout this whole ordeal, wel­ fare may accuse you o f fraud, and you should know what it means. Fraud is purposely giving false in ­ several ways to do it. The amount o f your w el­ fare check could be reduced until the debt is paid off. I f your only income comes from welfare, yourcheck w ill be cut by 10 percent. But if you have other income as well, more than 10 percent w ill be taken. Note, how­ ever, if your overpayment happened beforeOct. 1,1981, your ADC check cannot be cut by 10 percent. Other ways o f repaying ADC is by cutting day care pay­ ments 10 percent, taking any state income tax refunds you have com­ ing, or, i f you’ re working, reducing any earned income deductions. This last method could result in getting a smaller we 1 fare check or no check at all. The welfare people can also sue you in court or ask you to sign a “ confession o f judgement.” If this happens, get legal help im m edi­ ately. It’ s also lime for a lawyer’s help when they threaten to garnish your wages or take your personal property. Talk to someone about your rights, and don ’ t sign anything you don’ t understand or disagree with. Collecting on excess food stamps, overissuance, works d iffe r­ ently. I f the overissuance was not your fault, welfare cannot cut back fo rm a tion to get benefits you shouldn’t be gelling . If you know ingly give false information or w ith ­ hold information to get A N Y type ol public benefits, you are comm itting fraud. Welfare calls this“ Intenlional Program Violation” (IPV). If your case worker thinks you lied or w ith ­ held information, a welfare investi­ gator w ill look into your case. W el­ fare cannot prosecute or ja il you lor fraud. But it ca ncu toff your benefits six months for the first violation, one year for the second and perma­ nently for the third. Your ADC can­ not be cut o ff lor overpayments that happened before Nov. 1, 1988. But welfare can also refer your case to the District Attorney for crim inal prosecution. Welfare fraud isaC lass C felony in Oregon. I f convicted, you could face fines, restitution, and in rare cases, jail. So i f you arc accused o f fraud, gel legal help and NAACP And Flagstar Reach $1 Billion Historic Accord To Expand Opportunities For Minorities Flagstar C om panS. Inc. and the The value ofthe Fair Share Agree- National Association for the Advance- ment o f Colored People (NAAC P) incnt is estimated to be $1.01 b illion over the next seven years in direct and signed a far-reaching and compre- hensive Fair Share Agreement to pro- vide greater opportunities for m inori- ties at the company 's restaurant and indirect benefits Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis. Jr., E.\- ecutivc Director o f the N AAC P. coin- menting on the agreement said. ” 1 am exceedingly pleased that after several months o f negotiation, the NAACP and Flagtstar, along w ith Richardson Sports, have signed a number o f his­ toric agreements, unprecedented in scope and magnitude. This b illion dollar package w ill set a standard for future relations between the C iv il R ights M ovem ent and corporate America and w ill enhance the struggle o f African-Americans and other ra­ cial minorities for economic empow­ erment and racial justice ” “ This historic agreement-one that w ill be a model for other coinpa- m es-is tangible cvidcnccofFlagstar's commitment totreating customers and employees fairly regardless ofthe color food service operations. The agreement, w hich covers 120,000 F la g sta r em ployees at Denny’s Hardee’ s. Quincy's Family Steakhouse, El Polio Loco restaurants and the Canteen contract food, vend­ ing and recreation services company, includes: * A m inority recruitment and training program designed to increase m inority representation in manage­ ment to 12 percent and in on-manage­ ment to 20 percent * Greater franchise opportunities fo r minorities. * A M inority Procurement Pro­ gram w ith goal for purchasing 12 percent o f total goods and serv ices, including food, manufactured goods, office supplies and services, construc­ tion and contracting from m inority- owned firms. * A pledge to increase the use o f m inority firm s for professional ser­ vice such as banking, insurance, ac­ counting , advertising and legal coun­ sel. * An ongoing random testing program, coordinated by the NAACP, or nearly 2,000 Flagstar company res­ taurants designed to ensure that all customers are treated fairly and to quickly identify any discrimination and take corrective action In addition, Flagstar w ill appoint at least one minority member to its board o f directors _ . . . . - ■ « i ___ " o f their skin or their racial heritage," said Jerome J. Richardson. Flagstar Chairman and C hief Executive O ffi­ cer. As part o f its effort to increase minorities in management and non- management positions, Flagstar w ill start a series o f m inority recruitment and training programs These include a M in ority Traincc Program designed to identify qualified m inority employ­ ees and place them in the company’ s management training and develop­ ment programs. A M inority Recruit­ ment Program w ill work through com­ munity organizations and educational institution to identify potential new employees.Flagstar w ill develop a Recruitment Action Plan that works been signed in a single day.” Flagstar has also agreed to spend 10 percent o f its radio and print adver • i 1» n i i n n r i t v x ii t ir * / tising budget