We have handled many Unemployment Hearings before Referees in Chester County, Delaware County, Montgomery County, Berks County, Lancaster County, Bucks County and Philadelphia County. We often handle them on a contingent fee or on a flat fee basis, depending upon the situation. We know that you have lost your job, and we understand how important these benefits are to you.
WILLFUL MISCONDUCT OR VOLUNTARY QUIT CASES
Ordinarily, Pennsylvania unemployment benefits will be immediately be provided to you if, in your initial application to unemployment, you indicate that you were "laid off."
To the uninitiated, "laid off" sometimes means "terminated from employment without being given a satisfactory explanation as to why I was terminated." In many cases that we are seeing, people are saying they were "laid off" because they disagree with or do not fully understand the employer's reason for firing them. Since they are representing to Unemployment that they are laid off, they are immediately paid benefits.
However, what many people do not know when they submit that initial application, is that even after benefits have been paid to the terminated employee, the Unemployment Service Center is conducting an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the end of the employment by asking the employer to provide information on that issue.
In many cases, employers are very concerned with paying unemployment, and they will make every effort to stop the payment of benefits by stating, either truthfully or falsely, the reasons for the termination. In other cases, your ex-employer will tell unemployment that you quit your job, even where that is not exactly true.
If the employer tells unemployment that you were terminated for willful misconduct or that you quit your job, the Service Center will send a questionnaire to you and your employer asking for written statements as to why the employment ended. These questionnaires is not a model of clarity, so you need to take care when responding.
Having received answers to from you and your former employer, the Service Center issues a Notice of Determination either granting or denying the benefits.
NOTE: for whatever reason, employers are allowed to submit information to the Service Center weeks or even months after your employment ended. That is why, in some cases, you may initially be granted benefits only to receive a Notice of Determination months later finding you ineligible for benefits.
OVERPAYMENT ISSUES
Overpayments occur when, after you were initially granted benefits, the Service Center later determines that you are, in fact, ineligible for benefits. If, after benefits were initially granted, they are later denies, then Unemployment asks the employee to pay back the benefits that he or she has received prior to the determination.
If the Service Center deems that you were honest when you completed your initial application for benefits, then it will be deemed a "non at-fault overpayment." This usually occurs when you received benefits because your employer did not initially respond to the Service Center's request for information.
However, if Unemployment believes that the employee lied during their initial application (i.e where an employee stated he/she was "laid off" when in fact they knew they were fired for excessive absenteeism, or when they state they were fired even though they actually quit), it is deemed an "at fault overpayment," and penalties may be imposed.
INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR CASES
Another less common area of dispute centers on whether the terminated employee was in fact an employee versus an independent contractor (the independent contractor issue comes up much more frequently with post-unemployment job opportunities. Click Here for more on Independent Contractor cases in general).
Where your employment status is at issue, you and your ex-employer will receive an independent contractor questionnaire. These are also quite tricky. Once those forms are received, the Service Center will issue a Notice of Determination announcing its findings as to whether you were an employee or an independent contractor.
WHAT TO DO AFTER YOU RECEIVE THE NOTICE OF DETERMINATION
If you received a Notice of Determination denying you unemployment compensation, you should immediately appeal the denial (you have only 15 days to do so). Similarly, you should also appeal any Overpayment Determination. If your appeal is late, game over. Late appeals are almost never permitted.
If the NOD is in your favor,the employer has the same 15 days to appeal. However, you usually won't know whether the employer appealed until you receive a Notice of Hearing....
When you file an appeal from an NOD, you need not say much. In fact, we tell our clients to simply state that "I disagree with the Determination."
THE UNEMPLOYMENT HEARING
If either you or the employer appeals the NOD, an Unemployment Hearing will be scheduled before a Referee (this Hearing usually takes place within 30 days of the appeal being filed). At that Unemployment Hearing, an Unemployment Referee will decide whether the employee has engaged in willful misconduct or, where a voluntary quit is involved, whether the quit was justified.
Similarly, Independent Contractor disputes are decided by Referees at Unemployment Hearings.
If the employee loses that hearing, then the Referee may also decide whether the employee was untruthful in his or her initial application. If so, it will be deemed an "at-fault overpayment" (in which case you will have to pay back the benefits you received immediately and penalties may be imposed) or whether it was a "non at-fault overpayment" (in which case you only have to pay back the benefits if, during the next three years, you apply for unemployment again).
MORE QUESTIONS?
We have more fully and completely addressed many issues arising Pennsylvania Unemployment law in our answers to FAQs; just Click Here to jump to that page.
Unemployment Attorney in Pennsylvania Serving Coatesville, Pottstown, Norristown, East Norriton, Malvern, Paoli, Downingtown, Media, Radnor, Newtown Square and Philadelphia Areas
Call 610-647-5027, e-mail me directly or send an e-mail inquiry via the "Fill Out My Form" box to the upper right of this page. We will respond promptly with an analysis of your situation, and discuss potential options going forward.
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