Organ Mountain News report

ALBUQUERQUE - Nearly 30,000 New Mexicans may still have pandemic-era unemployment debt on their accounts and have until Feb. 21, 2027, to apply for forgiveness under a class action settlement.

The debt stems from unemployment benefit overpayments issued in 2020 and 2021 that workers were later told to repay after administrative errors by the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, according to the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty.

The organization said the state intercepted tax refunds and future unemployment benefits, placed liens on real estate, threatened wage garnishment and established payment plans to collect some of the debt.

The New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty and Ives and Flores Law Firm sued the Department of Workforce Solutions in Duran v. New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions. The resulting settlement covered roughly 60,000 workers who became eligible for refunds, debt forgiveness or both.

Nearly 30,000 class members have not yet applied for forgiveness, according to the center.

Some workers may not know they still have outstanding debt or that they qualify for forgiveness. Others may not have received notices because their contact information has changed since the pandemic.

“We want to encourage everyone who received unemployment benefits during the pandemic to check their DWS account and find out if they are eligible for forgiveness,” said Stephanie Welch, workers’ rights director at the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty.

Workers who do not apply by the deadline could continue to have future unemployment benefits withheld and may face other collection efforts, including tax refund garnishment or liens on real estate, according to the center.

To determine eligibility, workers can log in to their Department of Workforce Solutions account or contact the agency. Applicants will be asked two yes-or-no questions used to determine whether they qualify.

More information for class members is available HERE.