New Hampshire Code of Administrative Rules
Emp - Commissioner, Department of Employment Security
Chapter Emp 400 - ADMINISTRATION
Part Emp 409 - OFFSET OF FEDERAL TAX REFUND PAYMENTS
Section Emp 409.03 - Advance Notification and Opportunity to Present Evidence

(a) The department shall provide a written notification to the individual by U.S. mail, to his or her last known address, informing the individual that the department intends to refer the debt for collection by federal tax refund offset and advising the individual of the individual's rights and limitationsunder Emp 409.03(b), (d), (f), (i) and (j). Such written notification shall inform the individual that he or she has the right to request forbearance.

(b) The individual l shall have60 days to present documentationthat all or part of the overpayment debt is not past due, not legally enforceable, or is not due to fraud or the individual's failure to report earnings.

(c) The department shall consider any documentation presented by an individual in response to the notice described in Emp 409.03(a) and determine whether an amount of such overpayment debt is not past due, not legally enforceable, or is not due to fraud or the individual's failure to report earnings.

(d) The individual shall not have new or further right to appeal, or otherwise have reviewed on the merits, any final determination which determined the individual's overpayment debtand which the individual already had rights of appeal under RSA 282-A:42-68.

(e) The department shall advise the individual of its determination under Emp 409.03(c) in writing and shall notify the individual of his or her right to submit a request for reconsideration.

(f) If the individual disagrees with the department's determination under Emp 409.03(c), the individual may submit a written request for reconsideration to the Commissioner within 14 days of the date of the notice of the department's determination. Requests for reconsideration postmarked or received later than 14 days after the date of the notice of the department's determination shall not be considered unless the commissioner or the commissioner's designee finds sufficient grounds to justify or excuse the individual from filing a timely request for reconsideration.

(g) For purposes of this section, sufficient grounds shall include any unforeseeable circumstance beyond the individual's control that prevented the individual from making a timely request for reconsideration.

(h) The commissioner's review shall be on the record. If reconsideration is requested, the commissioner shall designate a person to participate in the commissioner's review who shall be different than any person who was designated to make the initial determination in accordance with Emp 409.03(c).

(i) The department shall advise the individual of the commissioner's determination under Emp 409.03(h) in writing. The department shall also notify the individual(s) that if they believe that the department incorrectly certified that their overpayment debt is either past due, legally enforceable, or the debt is due to fraud or the individual's failure to report earnings, the individual may file a complaint with FMS. The department shall provide the individual with the address and telephone number for FMS.

(j) The individual may contact the department to request that the department grant forbearance in whole or in part if the tax refund offset would cause extreme financial hardship pursuant to Emp 409.08.