If you disagree with a decision from the UC Service Center or Appeals Referee, you can appeal. You can appeal by sending a letter or form by mail to the address on the decision. You can also fax your appeal using the number listed on the decision. If it's from the UC Service Center, you can email your appeal to UCAppeals@pa.gov. For decisions from the Appeals Referee, email UCBoardAppeals@pa.gov. Remember, sending information by email isn't secure.
Here are important deadlines to remember:
- UC Service Center appeal: You have 21 days from the decision date to send in your appeal. The last day to appeal is written on the decision.
- Referee appeal: You also have 21 days from the decision date to send in your appeal. The last day to appeal is written on the Referee's decision.
- Board appeal: You have 30 days from the decision date to send in your appeal.
- Get all your papers together for your appeal hearing.
- If you need help because of a disability or don't speak English well, tell the Referee's office.
- At the hearing, you'll talk, answer questions, and maybe have people who saw what happened talk too. Everything said will be written down.
- If you have someone who saw what happened and you want them to talk or bring papers, tell them when and where the hearing is.
- If your witness won't come or give papers, ask the Referee to make them come by issuing a subpoena. They'll do it if they think it's needed.
You can ask to testify over the phone in some cases. Just contact the Referee office listed on your Notice of Hearing by phone, mail, email, or fax to request it.
You can speak for yourself at the hearing or have someone else, like a lawyer, speak for you. If you're the one making a claim and you meet the requirements, you could get free legal help. At the hearing, everything is written down. The Referee will make sure everyone gets to say what they need to.
If you can't go to the hearing, ask right away to change the date. You need to ask the Referee named on the Notice of Hearing. They'll decide if it's a good reason and if they can change it. If they agree, they'll set a new date for the hearing.
If you need someone to come to the hearing but they won't, ask the Referee office listed on the Notice of Hearing to send a subpoena. They'll do it if it's needed.
If you need help because of a disability with hearing, speech, and/or vision, or for a language other than English, please contact the Referee's office as soon as possible.
If you change your mind about appealing, you can cancel it if the tribunal agrees. If it's with a Referee, send a letter by mail, email, or fax to the Referee Office. If it's with the Board, send the letter to the Board. You can also get a withdrawal form from any Referee office.
If the Referee hasn't made a decision yet and you need more information added, you can ask to reopen the case by contacting the Referee's office. They'll look at your request and decide if it's okay. You need to write a letter to the Referee's office to ask.
If the Referee already made a decision and you're appealing to the Board, tell them about any new information you have in your appeal. You can also ask the Board for another hearing. They'll decide if they'll do that.
After they finish looking at everything, the Referee or Board checks the laws and facts to make a decision. Referees usually decide in about 30 to 45 days, and the Board usually takes 45 to 75 days. They try to decide quickly.
If you won your appeal with the Referee, it can take 2-4 weeks to get your benefit payments from the UC Service Center. Continue to file for benefits during the waiting period.
If you missed the hearing, you can ask to have it done again. Write a letter to the Referee explaining why you couldn't make it. They'll decide if it's a good reason. If they haven't decided yet, they might let you do it again.
The Board typically doesn't hold hearings for more appeals. But if they need more info, they'll send it back to a Referee for another hearing. If you want to add new evidence, write a letter to the Appeals System Administrator. Explain why you think there should be more testimony.
If you want a copy of the Referee's hearing record, you can get it for free if you're appealing to the UC Board of Review. Send a letter by mail, email, or fax to the Appeals System Administrator at the UC Board of Review. Make sure you say why you need the record. Remember, they only give records for unemployment purposes.
Appeals System Administrator, UC Board of Review
Room 1116 Labor & Industry Building
651 Boas Street
Harrisburg, PA 17121-0750
Fax: 717-787-6125
Email: ra-li-ucbr-CentralOf@pa.gov.
If you want to send a brief for an appeal to the Board, you need to ask for permission first. Send a letter by mail, fax, or email to the Appeals System Administrator at the UC Board of Review. If they say yes, they'll give you a copy of the testimony transcript and tell you when the brief is due. You need to send one original and four copies of the brief.
Appeals System Administrator, UC Board of Review
Room 1116, Labor & Industry Building
651 Boas Street
Harrisburg, PA 17121-0750
Fax: 717-787-6125
Email: ra-li-ucbr-CentralOf@pa.gov
If you don't like the Board's decision, you can appeal to the Commonwealth Court. Send your appeal to the Prothonotary in Harrisburg, PA, within 30 days of when the Board sent their decision. If you have any question, you can call 717-255-1650 for help.
You can also ask the UC Board of Review to look at your case again. Send your request to the Appeals Administrator in Harrisburg, PA, within 15 days of when the decision was mailed. They don't usually change their mind, and they won't take new evidence unless you couldn't give it before. Remember, asking for reconsideration from the Board doesn't give you more time to appeal to the Commonwealth Court.
If you feel the Referee for your case isn't fair, you can write a letter to the Appeals Administrator at the UC Board of Review in Harrisburg, PA. Tell them why you think so and ask for a different Referee.