This question concerns Unemployment Insurance in the Bay Area, California.

My friend had been working a full time job at a bank, but she got a short term temp job for just one shift a week on the side for a little extra holiday cash. Right before her short term weekend job was set to end, she lost her full time job at the bank. After she lost her full time job, she filed for unemployment, even though she still had two more Saturdays shifts left to work on her temp job.

She has a new job now, but was unemployed and receiving unemployment benefits while between jobs.

Just recently, the Unemployment Dept. detected that she was still employed at her temp job at the time when she filed her claim for unemployment benefits and now they want all the benefits they paid to her repaid back to them. They also charged her an additional 30% as a penalty for filing an inaccurate claim.

She's working again now, but doesn't have anywhere near enough money to pay back what the government wants.

She's a single mom, and freaking out. She can't afford to pay back the money and doesn't know what will happen to her if she doesn't.

Does anyone know what her options are or what she should do?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

It might sound harsh and not the answer you are looking for.

But she did file inaccurate claims. If she would have filed accurately reporting only the short term work, she would have gotten something although less than the full amount. Once she filed an inaccurate claim, she wasn't entitled to any of it.

She could try to appeal, but I honestly don't see it going anywhere. She can pretty much count on her tax refund from the IRS and state being taken to pay off the debt.

She can file an appeal but she lied on her application so it's doubtful that it will be ruled in her favor.