9 Ways to Avoid Losing Your Unemployment Appeal
So you have an unemployment appeal scheduled, and you really don’t want to lose. You’ve come to the right place. We don’t want you to lose either.
9 Ways to Avoid Losing Your Unemployment Appeal
Losing your unemployment appeal means losing your unemployment compensation while you search for a new job. Unemployment compensation helps you keep paying the bills while you find a new job. Here are a few ways to minimize the chance of losing your unemployment appeal.
1. File Your Appeal on Time
When you receive notice that your unemployment compensation has been denied, the letter will tell you when your deadline is to file an appeal. Be sure that you submit your appeal within the time period or you’ll have more problems on your hands.
Good Cause for Late Appeals
Sometimes filing late just happens, but only certain reasons are good enough. The circumstances leading to your late appeal must be beyond your control. If you do file late, you will want the help of a lawyer to be able to list the reasons and avoid dismissal.
2. Prepare for the Unemployment Appeal Hearing
As soon as you know that an appeal has been filed, gather your evidence. Not only do you want to be prepared for the hearing, but you want to avoid missing important information due to memory fading. The idea is to understand why your unemployment compensation was denied and to know how to best combat that information.
Don’t
- Smear your employer’s name
- Only show your performance reports
- Reveal all your write-ups
Do
- Focus on the law
- Know the issues of your appeal
- Treat your former employer politely
3. Read the Notice of Hearing
The notice of hearing offers two important details about your appeal hearing: location and issues. In this letter, you will find out the date, time, and location of your hearing. The notice also lists what issues have been stated for your denial of unemployment compensation. Keep this copy to ensure your details are correct for your hearing.
4. To Witness or Not to Witness
Not all hearings require witnesses to prove that by law you should be receiving unemployment compensation. When you speak to your lawyer and you determine that a witness is necessary, your lawyer will help you determine if the witness needs to have a subpoena. A subpoena is only required if you don’t think the witness will voluntarily come. Be careful to only subpoena witnesses who will help your case.
5. Overview the Witness Testimony
Witnesses can accidentally complicate a case by going on a tangent. You should never try to get a witness to offer a false story, but if you discuss the event and discover that their story differs from what you thought, you may not want them to testify. Be sure to review the witness’s story.
6. Be Timely
Being late can be enough for your appeal to be dismissed. Sometimes, they may wait up to 15 minutes for your late arrival, but if you show up after everyone is gone, nothing can be done. Legally, no one needs to offer a 15-minute grace period.
7. Know What and When to Present
Determining what and when to present can be challenging, but your lawyer can guide you. Testimony can be vital to your case, and it’s best for it to be in-person rather than written. Eyewitness can also be instrumental to your case as well as key evidence. However, always follow your lawyer’s advice.
8. Provide the Needle in the Haystack
Paperwork can be powerful evidence. But every company does their documents a little bit different so just presenting a giant stack of paperwork can be overwhelming, time-consuming, and surface-level not helpful. When offering a lot of documents, provide a summary or chart, saying what you believe these documents reveal.
9. Share the Nuances of the Job
Industry to industry, language and slang differ. Something that is perfectly acceptable in one industry might not make sense in another. When seeking an appeal, you need to ensure that those unfamiliar with these nuances understand enough to make a good decision, hopefully on your behalf.
As you prepare for your appeal, be sure to continue applying for jobs. Unemployment compensation benefits require that you be job searching. Keep a list of jobs that you’ve applied for, tracking details of application, follow-up, and interview. Your job is to be job seeking.
If you lose your primary appeal, you can appeal that decision. Each appeal requires a higher expertise in pursuing your rights. A lawyer provides that higher level of legal expertise.
Chat with an employment attorney: (412) 626-5626 or lawyer@lawkm.com.
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