A complaint filed with the Merrimack County Superior court on March 26 [
read full complaint below] alleges the state imposed an illegal tax on a Rye man by requiring him to pay back nearly $5,000 in unemployment benefits he received in 2020.
The complaint chronicles a history of what it refers to as the state government’s failure to protect the citizens of New Hampshire during a pandemic. The agency responsible for handling unemployment claims for the state is New Hampshire Employment Security (NHES).
Experiences with NHES, recounted by members of the Facebook group N.H. Unemployment During Covid-19, adds anecdotal support of this failure for thousands of Granite Staters, said former Assistant Attorney General Michael Lewis. Members of the group have described being treated with disrespect and with not receiving timely responses to questions about their benefits or overpayment appeals.