Nearly all of Kane Beef’s 750 employees are still awaiting word on when they will return to work. A hearing to finalize the sale of the beef processor continued in a Houston bankruptcy court on Monday. So far, there are no updates about final approval.
Meanwhile, some of those workers have filed for and received unemployment benefits. But what happens if those people receive back pay from the new owner? The KRIS 6 News Fact Check team is sorting out the fact from the fiction.
For now, it’s unclear if the future owner of Kane Beef will pay these employees retroactively. However, if they are retroactively paid and also received unemployment insurance, do they have to repay those benefits?
That is a fact. The workers will be on the hook to return those funds to the state.
A spokesperson from the Texas Workforce Commission tells KRIS 6 News when people get back pay for weeks that they were receiving unemployment benefits, it creates an overpayment. That’s why they would be required to pay the money back to the TWC.
If the employer deducts the benefits from the back pay, the employer is responsible for refunding the benefits to TWC. If the benefits are not deducted, the individual is responsible for pay the state back.
If you would like for us to do a fact check on a specific issue, send your suggested to factcheck@kristv.com.
