Underpayment corrections.

(a) When a recipient of public assistance receives a payment or series of payments in an amount less than that for which the recipient is eligible, or does not receive payments for which the recipient is eligible, the underpayment shall be corrected retroactively for not more than 12 months prior to whichever of the following occurs first:

(1) The date the Mayor received a request for restoration of assistance from the recipient;

(2) The date the recipient requested a fair hearing concerning the loss of assistance; or

(3) The date the Mayor is notified or otherwise discovered that a loss of benefits to an assistance unit has occurred.

(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to confer an entitlement to public assistance to any individual. The decision to grant public assistance to an eligible individual lies in the sole discretion of the Mayor.