Can PA employers appeal UC determination from 2 years ago? Sudden notice after benefits ended

There's definitely a time limit! Employers only have 15 days from the determination date to file an appeal. If it's been 2 years, something is seriously wrong or illegal. Tell your cousin to check the appeal paperwork VERY carefully - might not even be legitimate. Does it have an actual docket number and hearing date? Is it from the official PA UC office?

This is actually possible but RARE. Under PA UC law, the standard appeal period is 15 days, but there's an exception for fraud cases. If the employer is claiming they have evidence your cousin misrepresented something on her application, they can sometimes appeal beyond the normal time limit. This typically happens if they claim to have documentation showing someone worked while collecting benefits or misrepresented their reason for separation. Your cousin should: 1. Gather ALL documentation from her original claim 2. Print her work history/pay stubs from that period 3. Prepare a statement about her separation from employment 4. Consider requesting postponement if she needs more time The appeal hearing is critical - if she doesn't attend or isn't prepared, she could lose automatically.

I went through something similar last year! My former employer claimed they found evidence I was fired for misconduct 18 months after I collected benefits. Turns out they were doing this to multiple former employees to try to lower their UC tax rate. I won my appeal because I kept ALL my original paperwork proving I was laid off. Make sure your cousin attends the hearing with everything organized. The UC referee will want to know why the employer waited so long to appeal. If they can't prove actual fraud (not just them changing their story), your cousin should be fine!

No lawyer needed! I represented myself at the hearing. The burden of proof is on the employer since they're making the fraud claim. Just make sure she's super organized and sticks to the facts. One tip: if the employer doesn't show up to the hearing (which happens a lot), your cousin automatically wins!

OMG this EXACT thing happened to my brother!!! His employer waited like 20 months to file some bogus appeal saying he quit instead of being laid off. The UC office sent him a huge overpayment notice for like $14,000!!! He tried calling PA UC for weeks but couldnt get through to anyone. Finally he used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got him connected to an actual UC rep in about 20 minutes. They have this demo video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/CEPETxZdo9E?si=WL1ZzVZWG3KiHrg2. The UC rep told him exactly what to bring to the hearing and he ended up winning his case! Tell your cousin not to panic yet!

Yeah it actually worked really fast. My brother said he was surprised how quick he got through. He had been trying for like 2 weeks on his own and kept getting the busy signal or disconnected. Better than sitting on hold all day!

The key issue here is whether there's legitimate evidence of fraud or willful misrepresentation. The PA UC law only allows these extremely late appeals in very specific circumstances: 1. If there's evidence of deliberate misrepresentation (not just an honest mistake) 2. If the information truly couldn't have been discovered earlier through due diligence Employers sometimes try this tactic to reduce their contribution rate, but the burden of proof is high. Your cousin should specifically ask during the hearing: "What specific evidence of fraud was discovered and when was it discovered?" The referee will need to address this question. Also, even if your cousin somehow loses, she could potentially qualify for a financial hardship waiver for the overpayment since it's been so long and she had no reason to anticipate this issue.

ur cousin is SCREWED!!! PA UC is ALWAYS on the employers side!!! they did this to me and 4 other people from my old job and we ALL had to pay back EVERYTHING plus interest!!!! the whole system is corrupt and the hearings are just for show. they don't care about proof or documentation, they just want their $$$ back!!!!!

Just wondering - did your cousin move to a different address since filing her original claim? I'm wondering if the employer tried to appeal earlier but notices went to an old address. That could explain the timing. Regardless, she needs to take this very seriously and attend the hearing with all her documentation.

I work as an HR manager (not for your cousin's company). There's actually a procedure where employers can request reconsideration of claims that affected their UC tax rate, but it typically has to be based on new information that wasn't available during the initial determination. The 15-day appeal period is pretty strict except in cases of fraud. One possibility: if your cousin's former employer can demonstrate they tried to appeal within the original timeframe but there was some administrative error (wrong address, appeal filed with wrong department, etc.), they might be granted a late appeal opportunity. But that's rare and they would need to prove their original appeal attempt.

UPDATE: I just spoke with my cousin and got more details. Apparently, her former employer is claiming they sent her a final warning letter before termination (they didn't) and that she was actually fired for attendance issues (not laid off due to restructuring). They're saying this is 'new evidence' they recently discovered when reviewing old personnel files. She still has her original termination letter clearly stating it was a position elimination/restructuring. This feels like they're just making stuff up to try to avoid UC charges!

Based on your update, I'm even more confident this is just the employer trying to reduce their UC tax rate. It's common for employers to review their UC charges when preparing budgets and then try to contest old claims. The good news is that referees are very familiar with this tactic and generally reject these attempts unless there's genuine evidence of fraud (like working while collecting benefits or lying about the separation reason). Since your cousin has the original termination letter showing it was a position elimination, she should be in good shape.

This sounds like a classic case of an employer trying to game the system to reduce their UC tax liability. The fact that they're claiming to have "just discovered" information in their own personnel files is a huge red flag - that's not newly discovered evidence, that's evidence they should have reviewed during the original determination process. Your cousin should definitely attend the hearing with all her documentation. The key points she should emphasize are: 1. She has the original termination letter stating position elimination/restructuring 2. The employer had access to all personnel files during the original claim 3. The 2-year delay suggests this isn't about genuine fraud but about reducing UC costs I've seen similar cases where employers wait until their annual UC rate review and then try to contest multiple old claims at once. The referees are usually pretty good at spotting this pattern. As long as your cousin has her documentation and can clearly explain what happened, she should be fine. One more tip: if the employer can't produce the alleged "final warning letter" they claim exists, that's going to seriously damage their credibility with the referee.

I'm dealing with something similar right now! My former employer tried to appeal my UC determination after 14 months, claiming they had "new evidence" that I was fired for cause instead of laid off. Turns out their "new evidence" was just a different interpretation of the same disciplinary write-up they had during my original claim. The key thing that helped me was understanding that PA UC referees look very carefully at whether the evidence is actually "newly discovered" or if the employer just failed to present it properly the first time. In your cousin's case, personnel files aren't newly discovered evidence - they're records the employer always had access to. I'd also suggest your cousin request a copy of her complete personnel file from the employer before the hearing (she has a right to this under PA law). If there really was a final warning letter, it should be in there. If it's not, that's pretty strong evidence they're fabricating this claim. The referee will also want to know why the employer waited so long to bring this up. "We were reviewing our UC tax rate" isn't a valid legal reason for missing the 15-day appeal deadline, even in fraud cases.