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Woman files Superior Court appeal claiming Labor ‘improperly’ took back her PUA funds
A woman has filed an administrative appeal with the Superior Court against the CNMI Department of Labor for allegedly “improperly” taking back Pandemic Unemployment Assistance funds that had been transmitted to her bank account.
Jennifer Angello, a woman who was allegedly found eligible for PUA and then disqualified without explanation, has filed an administrative appeal with the Superior Court against DOL.
According to her appeal, Angello was initially found eligible for PUA benefits on Jan. 4, 2021, but was later disqualified without explanation.
“Aafter four months of no benefits or explanations, the Department of Labor disqualified petitioner on June 11, 2021,” she said.
Angello said DOL first transmitted PUA funds to her account on May 28, 2021, before she was disqualified, and then “improperly” took the money back.
“Although unbeknownst to petitioner, DOL transmitted PUA benefits into her FHB bank account on May 28, 2021 and then without any notification or hearing the DOL improperly took back petitioner’s PUA benefits five days later and even denied her the qualified benefit of the federal program mandate of waiver of recovery of PUA overpayments,” her appeal claims.
Angello further stated that DOL’s Benefits Control Program provided only a one-sentence email message for evidence of reason to remove funds from her bank “without providing any explanation that they followed federal mandates in their improperly removing of petitioner’s bank funds.”
In closing, Angello said there were multiple legal errors made in her case, such as “legal errors in the interpretation and application of Hawaiian statutes and Hawaiian Administrative Rules that govern the appeals of PUA claimants in the CNMI, which was mandated by the CARES Act of 2020. Legal errors in the interpretation and application of U.S. Labor regulations and rules (UIPL advisories) governing the management of the CNMI PUA program. [And] legal errors in the interpretation and application of banking regulations concerning direct deposits,” she said.
