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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | March 4, 2024 11:00 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Joe Ciresi |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Extending Unemployment Compensation (UC) Appeal Deadlines |
| Too often claimants for unemployment compensation (UC) find the process to file a UC appeal to be frustrating and confusing. The claimant must learn the steps of the process, determine if and on what grounds to file an appeal, find an attorney or other legal assistance, and then ultimately file the appeal. Delays in mail processing, whether local or national, further reduce the time for a claimant to file an appeal. In some cases, claimants may receive a revised determination from an old UC claim – even going back years. These claimants especially need more time to find records relevant to the appeal and refresh themselves with the circumstances surrounding that claim, which they considered to be resolved. And when appeals are denied solely because they are not timely filed, regardless of the reason, that then increases the volume of appeals made to the UC Board of Review – resulting in increased caseloads, longer wait times, and delayed payments for claimants who need them. My legislation would extend the deadlines for filing UC appeals, especially in cases where an old determination was revised long after the fact. The current timeline to file appeals would be extended from 21 days to 30 days, similar to the deadline used by several other large states, and claimants would be allowed up to 60 days to appeal revisions of old determinations. Finally, if the deadline for an appeal falls on a weekend or legal holiday, the appeal deadline would be further extended to the next business day. These small changes to existing law could make the difference in whether a claimant receives the UC benefits that they need and are rightfully owed to them. This additional flexibility would make sure that a crucial lifeline to our constituents when they need it wouldn’t be taken away just because the mail was late or the claimant couldn’t get the help they need to navigate a complicated process quickly enough. Please join me in making the unemployment compensation appeals process more forgiving to claimants by co-sponsoring this legislation that would extend the timeline for filing of UC appeals. |
Introduced as HB2128