PA UC Employer Appeal Rights After Backdate Hearing - Can They Contest Whole Claim Now?

Your employer typically has 15 calendar days from receiving notice of your initial claim to appeal. If they're trying to appeal now after 7 weeks, they're likely past the deadline unless they can demonstrate good cause for the late appeal (like never receiving the initial determination notice). The referee was correct - your backdate hearing is separate from any appeal of your eligibility. The employer would need to file their own appeal, and the UC office would determine if it's even timely enough to schedule a hearing. The fact that you've been receiving benefits for 7 weeks indicates your claim was initially approved, and your employer either didn't respond or their initial protest was denied. Don't panic yet!

OMG THIS HAPPENED TO ME!! My boss showed up at my eligbility hearing and tried to bring up all kinds of stuff that wasnt even related to the hearing!!!! The ref shut him down pretty quick tho and told him he needed to file his own appeal if he wanted to contest the claim. Turns out he missed his deadline by like a month and they wouldnt even let him appeal!! So dont worry to much yet, the system is messed up but sometimes it actually works like its supposed to!!

did u win your backdate appeal? i have one next month and im nervous

If you've been receiving benefits for 7 weeks, your employer has almost certainly missed their appeal window. PA law gives employers 15 days from the determination date to file an appeal. After that, they need to prove they had "good cause" for missing the deadline. Good cause is limited to things like: - Never receiving the determination notice - Serious illness or hospitalization - Death in the immediate family - Natural disaster affecting their business Just deciding later they want to contest it is NOT good cause. The employer might file anyway, but if they're this far past the deadline without a legitimate reason, they'll likely be denied. For your own peace of mind, log into your PA UC account and check the "Determination History" section. You should be able to see when they issued the determination and if the employer filed a timely appeal.

Have you been able to reach anyone at PA UC to ask about this? They should be able to tell you if your employer still has appeal rights at this point.

If you're struggling to get through to PA UC on the phone (and who isn't?), try using Claimyr. I was in a similar situation last month with questions about my appeal and was going crazy trying to reach someone. A friend recommended Claimyr (claimyr.com) and it got me through to an agent in about 20 minutes instead of spending days redialing. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/CEPETxZdo9E?si=WL1ZzVZWG3KiHrg2 Getting a definite answer from a UC rep will give you peace of mind instead of just speculating. The agent I spoke with was actually really helpful with my appeal questions.

To directly answer your original question: If your initial claim was approved and the employer missed their 15-day appeal window without good cause, they cannot successfully appeal the entire claim now. However, if your backdate request is approved, the employer DOES have appeal rights related to the NEW weeks being added to your claim. They would have 15 days from the determination on those backdate weeks to appeal specifically about those weeks. They can't use the backdate approval as a way to reopen appeal rights for the entire claim, though. The appeal periods are separate for each determination.

My brother works in HR and he says employers almost NEVER win late appeals unless they can prove they never got the papers. Sounds like ur ok

Wait I just remmebered somethng important!!! I think theres an exception if theres fraud involved??? Like if ur employer is claiming u lied on ur application or something maybe they get more time? Did they say anything about fraud???

Update: I managed to speak with a PA UC rep this morning (finally!) and they confirmed what many of you said. My employer had 15 days to appeal the original determination and they didn't do it, so they can't appeal the entire claim now. However, they CAN appeal the backdate determination if it's approved, but only for those specific weeks being added. The rep said this happens fairly often where employers try to use one hearing to contest everything. Thanks everyone for the help and advice! What a relief!

@profile8 I used that Claimyr service someone mentioned above. Was skeptical but it actually worked - got through to a PA UC rep in about 25 minutes instead of calling for days. Worth it for the peace of mind!

This is exactly the kind of situation that shows how confusing the PA UC system can be! I'm glad you got confirmation from a rep that your employer missed their window. It's frustrating that employers think they can just show up at any hearing and contest whatever they want, but at least the appeal deadlines are enforced pretty consistently. If your backdate gets approved and your employer does try to appeal those specific weeks, don't stress too much about it. You'll have already proven you were eligible for the original claim period, so the burden would be on them to show why the backdated weeks should be different. Just keep all your documentation from the backdate hearing in case you need it again. Congrats on what sounds like a successful hearing! Fingers crossed you get good news on the backdate decision.

So glad you got this resolved! Your experience is a perfect example of why it's so important to know your rights in the UC system. Employers often try intimidation tactics or attempt to exploit any opening they can find, especially when they realize they missed their initial opportunity to contest a claim. The fact that your employer showed up at a backdate hearing trying to contest your entire claim shows they either don't understand the process or were hoping to confuse the situation. Good on the referee for keeping things on track and explaining that separate issues require separate appeals. This is also a great reminder for anyone reading - always document everything and know your timelines. Employers have the same deadlines we do, and the system does enforce them (when it works properly). Hope your backdate decision comes back positive!