You applied for unemployment benefits and were denied, or you were approved and your employer appealed. So you might be asking yourself “Do I need an attorney for my unemployment appeal?” The short answer is no. But wait! Now you’re asking yourself why an attorney would say that.
Accessibility
The unemployment program has a built in appeal system. The goal is to make the appeal process easily accessible to pro se, or self-represented parties. In other words, the appeal process is meant to be used by non-attorneys. The OESC Appeal Tribunal sends to the parties a cover letter with a QR code to an information booklet before the hearing to help explain what to expect. Hearing officers are also trained to explain legal procedures to claimants and employers in layman’s terms. Parties are encouraged to ask questions if they do not understand what is going on in the hearing.
Legal Formalities are Relaxed
An unemployment appeal is a formal legal proceeding, but traditional legal formalities are relaxed. You do not have to be an attorney to handle an unemployment appeal. You do not need know or understand the rules of evidence or how to question witnesses to be able to successfully represent yourself. The hearing officer will give offer guidance or correction when necessary.
Short Hearings
Generally speaking, OESC schedules the vast majority of hearings in one-hour time slots. As a result, the hearing officer must limit the evidence and testimony at the hearing to only the essential information they need to make a decision about your claim. The hearing officer will not accept character evidence from the claimant or the employer. The hearing officer will want to know only about the things that happened that led to the job separation. If you try to bring up other things, the hearing officer is very likely stop you.
Reasons to Hire an Attorney for your Unemployment Appeal
Even though the unemployment appeal process is less formal, you still have the right to be represented by an attorney. The decision to hire an attorney is wholly personal. Following are a few reasons you may want to hire an attorney:
- You get flustered under pressure and worry you may not be able to explain your side of the story clearly.
- Your case is very emotionally charged, and you need a buffer between you and the other side.
- You’re the kind of person who tends to just shout out what you’re thinking even when you know you’re not supposed to.
- You don’t want to be there alone and want to have someone on your team.
- You just want someone else to do the heavy lifting for you at the hearing.
Hire an Attorney before your Appeal Hearing
If you decide to hire an attorney for your unemployment appeal, you should do it as soon as possible. The appeal hearing is the ONLY time you will have to present evidence or testimony to support your case. An attorney can help you file an appeal to the Board of Review, but no new evidence can be presented at that appeal. So hire your attorney before your appeal hearing to get the biggest benefit.
Other Ways an Attorney Can Help
But maybe you have a pretty good handle on you case, and you just want some feedback or pointers. Or maybe hiring an attorney for full representation is outside your budget. An attorney experienced in unemployment claims can help!
Strategy Session
If you want to handle the hearing on your own, but want some 1-to-1 coaching on the hearing process, then a strategy session is a great option. In these meetings, we map out a strategy to get you the best outcome (not every case can be -or needs to be- won). I will teach you how to represent yourself at your hearing, learn how and when to make objections, which questions to ask questions the opposing party, and how to ask them. We also do a role-playing exercise so you know exactly what to expect the hearing process to be like.
Case Review
If have a good handle on your case but wanted some pointers on how to approach the hearing or have a few specific questions, a written case review might be the way to go. For this option, clients provide me with a copy of their appeal documents and prepared written explanation of the case, including an explanation of why they think they should win their appeal. I’ll reviewed the case, then provide a written analysis of the strengths and weaknesses, things to be sure to highlight for the hearing officer, questions to ask the other party, and (when available) case law that helped support their case.
Your Next Steps
If you want to explore the best option for getting help with your unemployment claim, schedule a meeting with me and let’s talk about it.
