From Globe.com:

The Healey administration is moving ahead with a plan to deal with overpayment of pandemic-era unemployment benefits by giving 59,000 recipients more time to resolve their cases, while beginning the process of clawing back $719 million from 112,000 others starting this week.

In 2020 and 2021, the pandemic unleashed an unprecedented amount of unemployment benefits for millions of workers in Massachusetts after the economy was largely shut down to reduce the spread of COVID-19. In the rush to send out checks, and amid ever-changing eligibility rules for new federal relief programs, some people approved for state benefits were later told they were overpaid ― in some cases by tens of thousands of dollars ― and would need to return the money.

After stories published in the Globe and pressure from the Legislature, the Baker administration rolled out a streamlined “one-click” waiver process last April. The state also launched a $1 million, multilingual marketing campaign to help recipients learn how to resolve their overpayment status.

Still, when Governor Maura Healey took office in January, about 171,000 people remained classified as owing jobless benefits money. As a result, their 2022 tax refunds could be intercepted by both the state and federal governments, according to Lauren Jones, the labor secretary Healey appointed and whose office oversees the Department of Unemployment Assistance.

These claimants are not accused of fraud, but rather were given too much money by mistake, through no fault of their own. In many cases, it was spent long ago to pay bills because people were out of work at the time.

Jones said resolving the outstanding overpayments has been a priority for the governor, who also wants to make sure the state does not take back money from recipients who deserved and needed it. To ensure that, the Healey administration decided to give 59,000 people who would have qualified for the one-click waiver program ― which expired in October ― more time to resolve their cases. They have been removed from the tax refund intercept list.