You have the right to appeal a determination that affects your right to benefits. You have 14 days to protest from the date the Determination of Eligibility was mailed. Your protest must be in writing and must be signed. Mail or hand deliver it to the local Employment Service office that made the determination. Be sure to include your Social Security number in your protest and the reasons for your disagreement with the determination. The Appeals Bureau will notify you of the date and time of the hearing.
All hearings are held by telephone. On the scheduled hearing date, a representative from the Bureau of Appeals will call you, your employer, a representative from the Department of Labor, and any witnesses who have to appear at the hearing. A lawyer or anyone else can come to the hearing to help you.
Speak to an Experienced Labor and Employment Law Attorney Today
This article is intended to be helpful and informative, but legal matters can be complicated and stressful. A qualified labor and employment law attorney can address your particular legal needs, explain the law, and represent you in court. Take the first step now and contact a local employment and labor law attorney to discuss your particular legal situation.
Unemployment Insurance: Overview
When workers become unemployed in the United States, they can apply to receive benefits from an unemployment insurance fund until they find another. All employers must pay one for each employee in their organization, payments that are then deposited in the state fund.
Former employees can receive unemployment insurance benefits only if they lost their job through no fault of their own.
Voluntary termination or discharge for misconduct makes it more difficult for an employee to claim benefits, and employers have the right to challenge unemployment claims when they believe they are invalid.
When the employee resigns
If an employee resigns, they will only be eligible to receive unemployment benefits if the resignation was filed for a valid reason or no cause. In order to be eligible for unemployment benefits, it must be proven that the worker could have suffered some type of harm or injury if he remained on the job.
For the employee’s reason for leaving to be valid, it must be urgent; For example, making the decision to quit a job because it does not offer opportunities for advancement. However, most courts will not consider it so. Dissatisfaction with employment is also not considered a compelling reason to quit.
Urgent reasons for quitting a job that a court might consider valid for filing for unemployment insurance benefits may include the following:
- Bullying
- Discrimination
- Significant reduction in hours or wages.
- Threats of dismissal or option to resign.
- Unsafe or dangerous working conditions.
When the employee is terminated
If an employer lays off an employee or significantly reduces their work hours, the employee will receive unemployment benefits, provided they have sufficient seniority and complete the eligibility requirements under the state program.
When the employee is fired
Employees who were fired can claim unemployment insurance benefits if the reason they were fired was not due to misconduct on their part.
For example, if an employee is laid off because the company was in financial trouble and had to downsize the workforce, then that employee is entitled to apply for unemployment insurance benefits.
A terminated employee may also be eligible for unemployment benefits if the employer had a valid reason to terminate the employee, but the violations were minor or the misconduct was unintentional. In other words, not all actions that result in termination are serious enough to qualify as misconduct and deny unemployment insurance benefits
Unemployment Insurance Claim Stages
While there are variations by state, a typical unemployment insurance claim goes like this:
- The claim is filed.
- The state agency makes an initial determination as to whether the former employee is eligible to receive unemployment benefits.
- If there is a dispute, the employee and employer file the relevant forms and documents.
- If the matter remains unresolved, a mediator holds an unemployment insurance hearing, where both the employer and the former employee can present witnesses to support their positions.
- If either party disagrees with the mediator’s decision, they may appeal it to an administrative agency.
- If the employer or former employee disagrees with the review board’s decision, they can appeal it to the state court system.
