When an employee is terminated, paperwork is usually provided by the employer indicating that the employee can apply for unemployment benefits. Once the application and required documentation are submitted, the unemployment division of the Connecticut Department of Labor may schedule a telephonic interview and ask the applicant questions to determine their eligibility for benefits. After that interview, a determination will be made as to eligibility. If the employee is deemed ineligible, the employee has a right to file an appeal of that determination either in hard copy or online.
Any unemployment appeal is reviewed by the Employment Security Appeals Division, which is an autonomous, quasi-judicial agency housed by the Department of Labor. The primary function of the Employment Security Appeals Division is to hear and decide the appeals which arise from the decisions which are made on the initial unemployment applications by workers.
After an employee files an appeal, the Appeals Division mails to each party (the employee and the employer) instructions on how to proceed with the appeal and the rights and responsibilities of each party along with a notice of a hearing before an Appeals Referee.
The employee will have to show that they are first eligible for unemployment benefits. Generally, an employee is eligible for benefits if they have earned sufficient wages from an employer that is covered by the Unemployment Insurance System; has left their most recent employment for a non-disqualify reason and is able and available for work while also actively seeking work.
If the employee is found to have separated from their employment for reasons other than lack of work, or where the employee is otherwise subject to an adjudication process, an examiner in the Appeals Division will be assigned and will make a determination about the employee’s eligibility for benefits following a “fact finding” interview whereat the employee and the employer provide evidence and testimony. That decision will be issued by the examiner and will be sent to both the employer and the employee which will either uphold the lower decision or find error in the decision and grant benefits to the employee. If the denial of benefits is upheld, the decision will provide the employee with further procedures for appealing.
If you are an employee who has been denied unemployment and is seeking to appeal that decision, or if you are an employer that is facing an unemployment appeal by a former employee, please call the experienced employment counsel at Harlow, Adams & Friedman, P.C. today at 203-878-0661 for a free consultation.
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