Attending an Unemployment Insurance Hearing

What Employees and Employers Need to Know

The following is information you will need in the appeal process. If you still have questions after reading this, contact the hearing office listed on the reverse side of the determination. The hearing office can tell you about general hearing procedures but cannot help prepare your case or give you advice about the merits of the case.

If you have questions about the payment of benefits or issues not under appeal, call:

Madison area Milwaukee area Toll Free
Fax: (608) 232-0940 Fax: (414) 438-2100
Employee: (608) 232-0824 Employee: (414) 438-7713 Employee (800) 494-4944
Employer: (608) 232-0633 Employer: (414) 438-7705 Employer (800) 247-1744

If you are the employee and your appeal is pending, you should continue to file weekly claim certifications until the appeal process is over. If you stopped claiming unemployment benefits and want to start again, refer to your "Claiming Wisconsin Unemployment Benefits" handbook.

Start to prepare your case now. Do not wait until you receive a hearing notice.

The following is general information on unemployment hearings under chapter 108 of the Wisconsin statutes and chapters DWD 100-150 of the administrative code.

You may read these documents at your local library or on the Internet: Chapter 108.01-108.26 http://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/108

Unemployment Rules and Regulations

DWD 100-150 http://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/code/admin_code/dwd/100

To receive a copy of the UI law, contact the hearing office listed on the reverse side of your determination.

KEY WORDS

Administrative Law judge (ALJ, Appeal Tribunal)
An attorney, employed by the state, who conducts the hearing, makes sure the facts are brought out, and issues a written decision.
Appellant
The party who requests a hearing. An appellant can be an employee or employer.
Attorney of Record
A lawyer who has informed the hearing office that he/she is representing a party at a hearing.
Cross-examination
The questioning of a witness by the opposing party.
Department
The Department of Workforce Development, Unemployment Insurance Division.
Determination
The first written decision from the department about an employee’s eligibility for benefits and/or an employer’s liability.
Evidence
Testimony and exhibits that the judge officially admits into the hearing record.
Exhibits
Papers that relate to your case, which may include: payroll or attendance records, check stubs, letters, warnings, medical excuses, work rules, work schedules, reports; also, photographs, video or audiotapes, charts, etc.
First Hand Witness
A person who has direct, personal knowledge of the facts relating to issues of the appeal.
Hearing Record
Evidence and recording of the hearing.
Medical Report
A written, certified report used in place of a health care professional appearing in person at a hearing.
Merits (Issues)
The reasons why benefits are allowed or denied.
Parties
Those whose rights might be affected by the outcome of a case. Parties at a hearing include:
  • the employee seeking unemployment benefits
  • the employer that is or may be charged for the payment of benefits
Respondent
The party who did not request a hearing.
Testimony
Verbal statements taken under oath at the hearing.

FORMS YOU MAY RECEIVE FROM THE DEPARTMENT

Hearing Instructions and Documents (C)
Tells you that a hearing will be held by telephone for one or both parties.
Hearing Notice (F)
Tells you the date, time, location, how you will participate in the hearing and other important information for the hearing.

WHAT IS AN UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE (UI) HEARING?

Legal Proceeding

You will be participating in a legal proceeding where testimony is taken under oath by an administrative law judge.

The proceeding is open to the public that is conducted to resolve issues about:

Representation by an Attorney

The department does not furnish legal representation to parties. If you want to be represented by an attorney, you must arrange such representation yourself. Your attorney should contact the hearing office immediately upon being retained to indicate that he/she will be representing you at the hearing.

SCHEDULING A HEARING

Hearings are scheduled by the four UI hearing offices: Appleton, Eau Claire, Madison, and Milwaukee. Hearing office hours are from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

The hearing office will try to schedule your hearing as soon as possible. This may be as soon as six days after you requested your hearing. However, there are times that you may have to wait several weeks for a hearing. Your hearing will be in person or by telephone. There are many hearing sites around the state, in addition to the four main hearing offices.

Hearing Notices

The hearing office will send you a Hearing Notice (Form F) telling you:

Please read both sides of the Hearing Notice.

SCHEDULING CONFLICTS

The hearing office will attempt to accommodate your scheduling requests but cannot promise a specific date and time for a hearing. If you are the appellant, include “unavailable” dates in your appeal letter. If you are the respondent, contact the hearing office with any scheduling conflicts immediately upon learning that a hearing has been/will be scheduled. If at all possible, please do not wait until the hearing is scheduled to notify the hearing office of conflicts.

Postponements

Postponements of scheduled hearings are generally not given unless there has been a showing of exceptional circumstances that justify delaying the proceedings. Requests for postponements cannot be made in writing. You must telephone the hearing officeto discuss the particular facts that you believe require a postponement of the case.

INTERPRETERS

If you need an interpreter, it is your obligation to inform the hearing office immediately. The hearing office uses its own interpreters (sign or language) during the hearing.

SPECIAL NEEDS REQUESTS

If you think you might need special arrangements (such as disability accommodations), immediately contact the hearing office.

TELEPHONE HEARINGS

In general, parties or witnesses who want to participate in a hearing by telephone must be located at least 60 miles from the hearing site. If you have been granted permission to participate by telephone, you must furnish the hearing office with the phone number at which you and/or your witnesses can be contacted for the hearing. At the time of the hearing, the hearing office will place a call to you and/or your witnesses at the number(s) furnished.

You will receive a Hearing Instructions and Document packet (Form C) before the hearing. If you have other documents that you want considered as exhibits, you should provide them to the hearing office and the other party at least 3 days prior to the hearing.

If the hearing office has scheduled a telephone hearing and you wish to appear at the hearing location in person, you mustcontact the hearing office in advance so that the appropriate preparations can be made.

IF YOU HAVE REQUESTED A HEARING AND CHANGE YOUR MIND

Only the party who requested the hearing (the appellant) may withdraw that request.

You can withdraw the request for a hearing at anytime during the appeal process by mail, by fax, or by calling the hearing office. If you do withdraw your request, no further proceedings will be scheduled in this matter.

HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE HEARING

You may review the file on your case at the hearing office. Call the hearing office on the Hearing Notice first to make sure that the file will be available when you plan to arrive.

Review Your Materials before the Hearing

Gather together documents with pertinent information. The first time that you look at written materials for the hearing should not be during the hearing itself!Review your materials before the hearing. Write down questions and points that you want to make.

ATTENDING THE HEARING

Be on Time

You should allow additional time to find the hearing office, park and walk to the building. If you are the appellant and you are late, your appeal may be dismissed. If you are the respondent and you are late, the hearing may be conducted without you.

Who Should Attend the Hearing

In most cases, both the appellant and the respondent should attend with their witnesses. If the appellant does not show up, a hearing will not be held. Your hearing notice will tell you if you are required to participate and, if so, by phone or in person.

WHAT HAPPENS AT A HEARING

Hearing Procedure

The administrative law judge will control the hearing. It is the judge’s job to gather all the information needed to make a complete record and make a decision in your case.

The judge will identify persons in the room and explain how the hearing will work. The judge will identify the determination being appealed, define the issue(s), and may ask you to state your position.

The judge will decide the order of the witnesses who will give their testimony under oath. The judge may require a witness(es) or other person(s) to leave the room while others testify.

The judge will ask questions of any witnesses who are necessary for purposes of developing a record. The judge will give you an opportunity to ask questions of each of the witnesses at the appropriate time. During “cross-examination,” you are NOT permitted to make statements. You will not be allowed to argue or disrupt the hearing. You are only permitted to ask questions.

Each party will also have its opportunity to present documentary evidence. After the parties have had a chance to present evidence, the judge will close the hearing.

Once the hearing is closed, the judge can no longer discuss the case with you. It is important to present all of your evidence at the hearing. The decision will be based only on the evidence presented at the hearing. Any further appeal will only involve review of the record made at the hearing.

The hearing will be recorded. To make sure the recording is clear, speak loudly and clearly. If you want a copy of the hearing recording, call (608) 266-3174.

WITNESSES

Bring Witnesses with Personal, Firsthand Knowledge to the Hearing.

Witnesses at a hearing should have direct, personal knowledge of the facts relating to the case.

Do not expect to submit written statements of witnesses who are not present at the hearing because they will likely be considered “hearsay” and inadmissible.

The rules of evidence at a hearing are like the rules in court. The judge cannot decide a case solely on hearsay testimony (statements made by a witness who does not have firsthand knowledge of the facts).

The judge may limit the number of witnesses to the same incident and will only allow testimony that is relevant to the case.

SUBPOENAS

If a witness will not appear at a hearing voluntarily or you need certain documents for evidence at your hearing, you can request a subpoena from the hearing office. If you decide to have a lawyer represent you, that lawyer may also issue a subpoena and must send a copy to the hearing office.

Information Needed

Before calling the hearing office for a subpoena, have ready the witness(es)’ name(s), address(es), and the reason(s) why his/her testimony relates to your case. If documents are needed, have a detailed description of the documents and the name of the person who has firsthand knowledge of those documents. If the hearing office has granted your request for a subpoena, it will provide you with an instruction sheet concerning subpoenas.

Serving the Subpoena

If your request for a subpoena is granted, you are responsible for properly serving the subpoena before the hearing. You must also pay the witness(es) for appearing and cover mileage expenses of the witness(es) you subpoenaed. The judge will decide if you can be paid back for witness fees and mileage expenses. If you want to be repaid, you must request it.

EXHIBITS

Bring Copies of Any Written Materials You Want to Submit at the Hearing.

The evidence you submit must relate to the issue(s) of the case. Bring the original document and two copies with you to the hearing. The judge will decide what to accept as evidence. If you bring a video or audiotape, you must bring equipment to play it at the hearing. All exhibits are left with the judge.

CERTIFIED MEDICAL REPORTS

If you are the employee, a report from the health care professional who is treating you may help decide your case. The employee may request or the department may send the employee a medical form to have the health care professional complete. This report should be returned by the due date on the form.

The person who completes the form does not have to be at the hearing, though you may subpoena (require) a health care professional to appear. An employer may also subpoena the health care professional or present its own report by a qualified expert for rebuttal purposes. That report must be certified to be included as evidence.

DEPARTMENT WITNESSES AND REPORTS

The administrative law judge may also take testimony from department staff or receive into the record a certified report from the department’s labor market database to make a decision. The report describes jobs, wages and other labor market conditions that may affect your case.

AFTER THE HEARING

The administrative law judge decides how the law applies to the facts of your case and issues a written decision. A copy of the decision is mailed to the parties, usually within two weeks of the hearing.

If a determination denying benefits is reversed, it may take two to four weeks for benefit checks to be mailed.

OVERPAYMENTS

If a determination allowing benefits is reversed, an employee may be required to repay the benefits already received. If you were overpaid because of a departmental error, and you were not at fault, you may not have to repay the benefits.

IF YOU ARE LATE, DO NOT ATTEND, OR CANNOT BE CONTACTED FOR THE HEARING

For an “in person” hearing, the administrative law judge will wait 15 minutes for the appellant (the party requesting the hearing) to arrive before dismissing the appeal. Similarly, for a “telephone” hearing, if the appellant cannot be contacted within 15 minutes of the scheduled time, the appeal will be dismissed.

The dismissal decision issued in any case will become final, unless there is good cause for not attending.

For either “in person” or “telephone” hearings, the judge will proceed with the hearing if the respondent does not arrive or cannot be contacted within 5 minutes of the scheduled time.
Due to unforeseen delays, parties are expected to wait up to one hour from the scheduled time for the administrative law judge to start the hearing/call you.

IF YOU MISSED THE HEARING AND WANT ANOTHER HEARING

If you fail to attend your hearing, you must explain in writing why you did not appear. Your explanation should be mailed to the hearing office immediately. Make sure to provide the hearing number in your letter of explanation.

The hearing office will schedule a hearing to decide if you had good cause for not appearing at the original hearing.

LATE APPEALS

If a request for hearing/appeal is late (postmarked or received after the deadline):

FURTHER APPEALS

If you disagree with the administrative law judge’s decision, you have 21 days from the date the decision is mailed to file an appeal for review by the Labor and Industry Review Commission (LIRC). Your appeal must be postmarked or received within those 21 days.

IMPORTANT!

If you are the employee and your appeal is pending, you should continue to file weekly claim certifications until the appeal process is over.

UCL-4478-P (R.02/2009)

DWD is an equal opportunity employer and service provider. If you have a disability and need to access this information in an alternate format, or need it translated to another language, please contact:
608-266-3189 or
TTY 1-866-222-2973