We’ve all been there… you have an employee who didn’t work out, they were dismissed appropriately due to job performance issues, drugs, violation of company policy, and now you’re faced with an unemployment claim.  Consider following these steps to appropriately respond and prepare for the hearing. 

1)    Upon receipt, be sure to read the notice you have received in its entirety.  There may be a lot of erroneous information included, but it will give you an indication as to the timeline you need to observe to turn in exhibits in support of your case. 

2)    Consider looking at your state’s website for the unemployment compensation department.  The website will have information on how to subpoena documents, etc. 

3)    If you attend the hearing in person, arrive early and be prepared with company policies, employee handbooks, etc. or bring the signature page from your employer handbook which verifies the claimant knew about the company’s policies, if relevant.  

• If the employee was terminated for willful misconduct such as theft, this may not apply, and you may lack documentation to submit as the employee may have been discharged without notice.  That’s certainly not to your detriment! 

Unemployment hearings may be held in the hearing officers office, but are often conducted via phone.  (You have an opportunity to submit the documentation as noted above prior to the call as well.)  According to shrm.org, while rules of the court regarding evidence and procedure are not necessarily applicable here, hearing officers will acknowledge objections.  It is okay for you to object if you believe testimony is not relevant to the issue at hand. 

In addition, make sure the information you provide is not redundant to what others have presented in the case.  Ensure whatever you bring forth contributes to the hearing officers ability to decide the case.  Have a closing argument summarizing your workplace policy, emphasizing the employee knew the policy and explaining very pointedly why the unemployment claim should be denied.

“This article should not be constued as legal advice.”