Payne leaves Indiana DWD; moves to United Way of Central Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Fred Payne is stepping down as commissioner of the Indiana Division of Workforce Growth.

Payne’s final day might be July 8 after being appointed in 2017.

On July 18, he’ll be part of the United Manner of Central Indiana as president and CEO.

“From the second he stepped as much as lead the Division of Workforce Growth, Fred Payne put his wealth of information, modern method and contagious optimism to work,” Gov. Eric Holcomb stated in an announcement. “All through the unexpected challenges of the previous few years, Fred has adeptly propelled this company to offer not solely unemployment advantages, however coaching that has helped 1000’s of Hoosiers pursue coaching pathways which have led to careers and helped unleash their full potential.”

Payne confronted intense scrutiny in 2021 after a collection of I-Staff 8 reviews on the unemployment disaster in Indiana.

I-Staff 8 uncovered how Payne’s division had demanded 1000’s of Hoosiers repay pandemic unemployment advantages to the state, advantages that they had been eligible to obtain.

Among the compensation calls for topped $12,000 per individual.

After the I-Staff 8 investigation, the DWD started touting unemployment overpayment waivers. In April of 2022, the division instructed I-Staff 8 it had now waived greater than $7 million {dollars} in overpayment requests.