How many times can you appeal unemployment decision with NYS Department of Labor?
My claim was denied back in October and I filed an appeal right away. The hearing officer upheld the denial last month saying I was fired for misconduct (which I completely disagree with). Now I'm wondering if I can appeal this decision again or if I'm stuck? I keep seeing different information online about how many appeals you get with NYS Department of Labor. Some places say you only get one shot, others mention something about a board review. Has anyone been through multiple levels of appeals? I really need these benefits and feel like the hearing officer didn't understand my situation at all.
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Liam Fitzgerald
You typically get one administrative appeal to an Administrative Law Judge after your initial denial. If that gets denied, you can appeal to the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board, which is your final administrative appeal within NYS Department of Labor. After that, your only option is to take it to state court, but that's expensive and rarely successful unless there were serious procedural errors.
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Mei Lin
•So basically just two chances within the unemployment system itself? That's not very many attempts.
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Diego Castillo
You can absolutely appeal the hearing officer's decision! After an adverse hearing decision, you have the right to request a Board Review with the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board. You have 30 days from the date of the hearing decision to file this appeal. The Board Review is your second level of appeal - so you're not stuck with just one chance. Make sure you clearly explain why you believe the hearing officer made an error in their decision.
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Ruby Knight
•Thank you! I had no idea there was a Board Review option. Do I need a lawyer for this or can I handle it myself?
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Amara Nnamani
I went through this exact situation last year. First denial, then appeal to ALJ got denied, then appealed to the Appeal Board and finally won. The whole process took about 6 months but I eventually got all my back benefits. Don't give up after the first appeal - the Appeal Board sometimes sees things differently than the ALJ.
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Mei Lin
•That gives me hope! What kind of new evidence or arguments did you present for the Appeal Board level?
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Amara Nnamani
•I didn't present new evidence, but I had my lawyer write a better brief focusing on how the ALJ misinterpreted the law. The Appeal Board is more about legal interpretation than new facts.
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Logan Stewart
I went through the exact same thing last year. Lost my initial appeal hearing, then filed for Board Review. The good news is you can represent yourself - I did and won on the Board Review level. The key is to focus on specific errors the hearing officer made, not just restating your case. Also make sure you submit any new evidence you might have within the 30-day window.
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Ruby Knight
•That gives me hope! What kind of errors did you focus on in your Board Review request?
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Logan Stewart
•The hearing officer ignored key witness testimony and misapplied the misconduct standard. I made sure to cite specific parts of the transcript where they got it wrong.
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Mikayla Brown
wait so theres 2 appeals?? i thought you only got one shot with unemployment. my cousin got denied and never appealed because someone told her there was no point
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Diego Castillo
•Yes, there are two levels! Initial hearing appeal, then Board Review if you lose the hearing. Your cousin should definitely look into this if it's not too late.
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Giovanni Mancini
honestly the whole appeals process is such a nightmare, took me forever just to get someone on the phone at NYS Department of Labor to explain what was even happening with my case
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NebulaNinja
•I had the same problem getting through to anyone! I ended up using this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me actually reach a live agent. They have a video demo showing how it works: https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI. Made it so much easier to get status updates on my appeal instead of just waiting and wondering.
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Sean Matthews
Just want to add that if you somehow lose the Board Review too, you can potentially take it to court, but that gets into serious legal territory and most people don't go that route. The Board Review is really your practical final shot with NYS Department of Labor. I've been through this whole process and the Board Review is definitely worth pursuing if you feel the hearing officer got it wrong.
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Fatima Al-Suwaidi
Wait I'm confused - I thought you could keep appealing indefinitely? Like if you have new evidence or something changes? This is really stressing me out because my first appeal hearing is next week and now I'm worried this might be my only shot.
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Liam Fitzgerald
•No, you can't appeal indefinitely within the unemployment system. You get your initial determination, then one appeal to ALJ, then one appeal to the Appeal Board. That's it for administrative remedies. Focus on making your best case at the ALJ level - bring all your evidence and be prepared.
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Dylan Mitchell
I've been through this whole mess twice now with different claims. The key thing people don't realize is that each level looks at different things. The ALJ hearing is where you present your evidence and testimony. The Appeal Board mostly reviews whether the ALJ applied the law correctly. So if you lose at ALJ, your Appeal Board brief needs to focus on legal errors, not trying to relitigate the facts.
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Mei Lin
•That's really helpful to know. So I should put everything I have into this first appeal hearing then, since that's my main chance to present evidence?
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Dylan Mitchell
•Exactly. Treat the ALJ hearing like it's your only shot, because in terms of presenting new evidence, it basically is.
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Ali Anderson
Ugh the whole appeals process is such a nightmare. I've been trying to get through to someone at NYS Department of Labor for weeks about my hearing and can never get anyone on the phone. The wait times are insane and half the time I just get disconnected. How are we supposed to navigate this system when you can't even talk to a human being??
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Sean Matthews
•I totally feel your frustration with getting through to NYS Department of Labor. I actually found this service called Claimyr that helped me get connected to an actual agent much faster. You can check it out at claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. It was honestly a lifesaver when I needed to get clarification on my appeal timeline.
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Ali Anderson
•Never heard of that but definitely willing to try anything at this point. These phone systems are brutal.
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Zadie Patel
good luck with all this bureaucratic BS. the whole system is designed to wear you down so you just give up. even if you win your appeals they'll probably find some other reason to screw you over
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Fatima Al-Hashimi
Ruby, I went through almost the exact same situation last year. Don't give up after the ALJ decision - you absolutely can appeal to the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board within 30 days. That's your second level of appeal within the NYS Department of Labor system. I'd recommend focusing your Board Review appeal on specific legal errors the hearing officer made rather than just restating your case. The misconduct standard is pretty specific in NY and if they misapplied it, the Appeal Board might overturn the decision. Also, if you have any documentation you didn't present at the hearing (like employee handbook excerpts, witness statements, etc.), you can still submit that with your Board Review request. The whole process took me about 4 months but I eventually won at the Board level and got all my back benefits. Stay persistent!
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Miguel Harvey
•This is so helpful, thank you! I'm definitely going to file the Board Review appeal. Quick question - when you mention submitting new documentation, do you mean things that existed during the original incident but weren't presented at the hearing? Or can you submit things that were created after the hearing? I have some emails I forgot to include initially that might help show the real circumstances around my termination.
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Romeo Quest
•@d69e71ffdcaf That's a great question about the documentation! From my understanding, you can submit evidence that existed at the time of the original incident even if it wasn't presented at the ALJ hearing. Those emails you mention should definitely be included if they help clarify the circumstances of your termination. However, you can't submit evidence that was created after the hearing date. The key is that the evidence must have been available during the time period being reviewed. I'd recommend organizing those emails chronologically and clearly explaining in your Board Review request why they're relevant to showing the hearing officer misapplied the misconduct standard. Don't lose hope - the Appeal Board sometimes takes a fresh look at cases and reaches different conclusions than the ALJ.
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