What are Unemployment Compensation Hearings All About?

I have been going to Pennsylvania Unemployment Compensation Hearings for over 20 years. From York to Lancaster to Harrisburg, whether I represent employers or unemployment compensation claimants, I am still befuddled by the number of times I appear at the hearing and I see how casually the other party approaches their hearing. Sometimes a party will even show up with a lawyer who doesn’t have a clue about the unemployment compensation law.

Unemployment Compensation Hearings in PA

An unemployment compensation hearing in Pennsylvania is, in many respects, a mini trial. This hits the parties, often for the first time, when they are told that the hearing will be recorded and are asked to raise their hands and swear an oath (or affirmation) to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

The point is driven home when the Referee begins to review and mark exhibits for use at the proceedings. By the time, the Referee asks the parties if they have any “legal objections” to the documents being admitted into the “record,” most parties have a puzzled look on their faces. This results because, up until that time, they did not need a lawyer to file for benefits, or to fill out any forms. Hence, they thought the hearing would simply be a time when they could show up and say pretty much what they wanted.

Once they learn that they cannot testify about certain matters, because such matters are deemed irrelevant or because they contain hearsay, or for any number of reasons, it is too late to reverse course. They are stuck with the consequences of their own bad choice (i.e. showing up without a lawyer, or with a lawyer who doesn’t know what they are doing).

Be Prepared for Your Unemployment Compensation Hearing

If you find yourself going to an unemployment compensation hearing, you owe it to yourself to do what you can to give yourself the best chance to secure unemployment compensation benefits. That process starts by talking to an unemployment compensation lawyer who knows the law, who has been to such hearings, and who can give you the edge you need. Contact Trinity Law for help with your unemployment compensation case.