PART 2 - Appeals to the Labor and Industry Review Commission (LIRC)

Unemployment Insurance Handbook for Employers (UCB-201-P)
Section 3 - Appeals

If the employer, the claimant, or the department disagrees with the Appeal Tribunal Decision (ATD), then the decision may be appealed to the Labor and Industry Review Commission (LIRC), an agency that decides appeals in unemployment insurance and other employment-related claims. LIRC is an independent agency that is separate from the department.

If an appeal to LIRC is filed, it must be postmarked or received by LIRC within 21 days from the date on which the Appeal Tribunal Decision was issued. See Appendix A in this section for the address of LIRC. LIRC will accept faxed appeals at (608) 267-4409, and appeals filed online at https://lirc.wisconsin.gov/ui_appeal.htm. The appeal deadline and information on how to appeal a decision to LIRC will be included with the appeal tribunal's decision. LIRC will mail a confirmation to verify that the appeal has been filed to the business or person filing the appeal and any opposing party.

Generally, only the exhibits and a synopsis of the testimony provided at the hearing before the appeal tribunal will be considered in the review by LIRC. If you can demonstrate to LIRC that the synopsis is an inadequate summary of the testimony at the hearing, you may request that LIRC listen to the digital recording of the hearing or order a transcript. While it is very unusual for LIRC to grant such a request, you can send a written request to LIRC that explains why you feel the synopsis is inadequate and what you think would be added by listening to a digital recording or reading a transcript.

Except in exceptional circumstances, LIRC conducts its review based only on the record which resulted from the hearing held by the appeal tribunal. In general, LIRC will not accept additional evidence unless it was unavailable to the party submitting it at the time of the hearing. The party filing an appeal to LIRC, or any opposing party, may request in the appeal or shortly after the filing of the appeal, to file a "brief" with LIRC. Upon receiving such a request, LIRC will establish a schedule by which the parties may file written arguments expanding upon the factual and legal points made in the appeal. The LIRC website, https://lirc.wisconsin.gov, contains a digest by topic of recent LIRC decisions and court decisions.

Except in most tax cases, LIRC decisions do not set legal precedent.

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Updated: August 19, 2024