Writing Example: Benefit Overpayments and Penalties Webpage
Before
Benefit Overpayments and PenaltiesA benefit overpayment is when you collect unemployment, disability, or Paid Family Leave (PFL) benefits you are not eligible to receive. It is important to repay overpayments to avoid collection and legal action. How We Notify YouNotice of Potential OverpaymentWe may mail you a Notice of Potential Overpayment if we need more information to determine if you were overpaid or the amount you were overpaid. For a potential unemployment overpayment, you must respond to the notice within 15 days so we can make the correct determination. For disability or PFL, you must respond within 14 days. If we determine the potential overpayment was not your fault or was not due to fraud, you may qualify for an overpayment waiver. We will send you a Personal Financial Statement (DE 1446) with the Notice of Potential Overpayment. |
After
Key Plain Language Strategies
The “After” version uses the following key strategies:
- Uses more descriptive headings, and added a question header to isolate sections: 1. Benefits Overpayments and 2. Penalties
- Simplifies jargon and difficult words.
- Adds numbered bullets to more obviously show reader which types of notices they could receive.
- Moves the details of what they also receive with the notice earlier to the notice’s introductory description.
- Moves the details about “potential overpayment” to its supporting section, “Overpayment waivers,” since these topics relate.
- Creates visual content with a table to make action steps easier to quickly know.
Understanding Benefit Overpayment and PenaltiesWhat are benefit overpayments?A benefit overpayment is if you collect unemployment, disability, or Paid Family Leave (PFL) benefits when you are not allowed to receive them. You must repay overpayments to avoid collection and legal action. How We Inform YouYou may receive two different notices from us about benefit overpayments. If we need more information to decide if we overpaid you and how much you received, you will receive a Notice of Potential Overpayment. You will also receive a Personal Financial Statement (DE 1446) with this notice. Responding to Notices
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