How to respond to unemployment claims appeal hearing notice from NYS Department of Labor?

You don't necessarily need a lawyer but you do need to be prepared. Gather all documentation related to the termination - attendance records, written warnings, company policies, any communication with the employee about their performance. The hearing will be conducted by phone usually. Make sure you have witnesses who can testify about the employee's attendance issues if possible.

Submit everything in advance! NYS Department of Labor usually gives you instructions in the hearing notice about how to submit documents. You can fax or email them typically. Don't wait until the hearing day because the judge needs time to review everything. Also make sure your attendance policy was clearly communicated to the employee and consistently enforced.

I went through this exact same thing last year with a former employee. The key is having solid documentation that shows the termination was for misconduct, not just poor performance. Attendance issues can be tricky - you need to show it was willful and repeated violations of known policy. The administrative law judge will want to see progressive discipline was attempted.

If you're having trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor to ask questions about the process, I had success using a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me reach an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Sometimes you need to clarify hearing procedures or submission requirements and their regular phone lines are always busy.

honestly these hearings are a joke anyway. even with perfect documentation they still side with the employee half the time. the whole system is rigged against employers

Make sure you participate in the hearing even if you think it's hopeless! If you don't show up or respond, they'll automatically rule in favor of the employee. The hearing is your chance to present your side of the story. Be factual, stick to the documentation, and don't let emotions get involved even if the employee says things that aren't true.

I've been through several of these hearings as an HR manager. One thing that really helped me was creating a timeline document that shows the progression of the attendance issues - dates of absences, warnings given, meetings held, etc. Also, if you have any documentation showing the employee acknowledged the attendance policy (like a signed handbook receipt), make sure to include that. The judges really look for whether the employee knew the rules and chose to violate them repeatedly. Stay calm during the hearing and answer only what's asked - don't volunteer extra information that could hurt your case.