On September 18, 2022, Claimant filed a Delaware Unemployment Insurance benefits claim.
On November 21, 2022, the Division of Unemployment Insurance’s Claim Deputy issued a determination that Claimant was ineligible for benefits.
Claimant appealed the determination, and an appeals hearing was held on December 21, 2022, but Claimant failed to appear and her claim was dismissed by the Appeals Referee.
On February 7, 2023, Claimant timely appealed the Referee’s decision to the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board, and the Board remanded the case back to the Appeals Referee on March 1, 2023.
On April 5, 2023, an appeals hearing was held upon remand. The Appeals Referee found that Claimant was ineligible for benefits because she was not considered unemployed or partially unemployed as defined in the Delaware Unemployment Insurance statute.
On April 13, 2023, the decision from the April 5, 2023 hearing was mailed to the Claimant.
On May 12, 2023, Claimant filed an appeal to the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board. Her appeal was deemed filed eighteen days after the appeal filing deadline enumerated in the Appeals Referee’s Decision.
On June 21, 2023, the Board reviewed Claimant’s case and decided not to take up Claimant’s case for further review. The Board reasoned that Claimant’s appeal to the Board was untimely. Moreover, the Board found no “‘evidence of any severe circumstances sufficient to justify the exercise of the Board’s discretion to hear the appeal in the interests of justice’” despite being untimely.
Claimant appealed her case into the Delaware Superior Court, which affirmed the Board’s decision because the Court found no abuse of discretion in the Board’s denial to hear Claimant’s appeal, and the Court found that the Board’s decision was free of legal error.
As to Claimant’s delay to appeal to the Board, the Court reasoned that “unless the delay is caused by an administrative error, a claimant’s failure to meet the statutory deadline will jurisdictionally bar the Board from accepting appellate review.”
If you have any questions regarding this decision, especially the unemployment claims process, please contact any attorney in our liability department.
Kenerine Fraser v. Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board, C.A. No.: N23A-07-008 CEB (Del. Super. Ct. January 22, 2024)
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