Unemployment Benefits

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Susan Grashoff v. David J. Adams

Case No.: 20-2739

Officials: Sykes, Chief Judge, and Scudder and Kirsch, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Unemployment Benefits

Indiana provides weekly unemployment benefits to claimants who meet certain qualifications. People working part-time jobs qualify, but they must accurately report their income so the Indiana Department of Workforce Development can reduce the weekly payout accordingly. A claimant who knowingly fails to disclose earnings on a weekly application must repay all benefits received for that week and is subject to a civil penalty of 25% of that forfeited amount.

Grashoff violated the reporting requirement by omitting her part-time income on 24 weekly applications. After an investigation, the Department determined that she knowingly violated the law and assessed a forfeiture and penalty totaling $11,190—the sum of all benefits she received for each of the 24 weeks, see I ND. C ODE § 22-4-13-1.1(a), plus the 25% penalty. An administrative law judge affirmed the sanction, see id. § 22-4-13-1.1(c), and Grashoff did not seek state judicial review.

Grashoff conceded that the difference between the benefits she received and the smaller amount she would have received had she reported her income is purely remedial. The remaining forfeiture amount, even when considered together with the 25% penalty, is not a grossly disproportionate sanction for Grashoff’s knowing violations of the law.

Affirmed.

Decided 04/18/23

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