Preparing for an Appeal Hearing

[Music] this is a hearing in the case of Miss Clara Krishna my name is Arthur Johnson I am the appeals referee with the Employment Security Appeals Division I'm here to hear and decide this case present at today's hearing our miss crystalline the claimant and mr. Sam Everett co-owner of Emily's cafe we're here today because the employer Emily's cafe appealed the decision of the local unemployment office to award benefits to miss Christmas I will make a new decision in this case and I will base my decision on the evidence presented at today's hearing I'm not bound in any way to follow the local unemployment offices decision as you can see this hearing is being tape-recorded witnesses will take an oath to tell the truth and if you have any documents that you want considered each document will be marked as an exhibit before being considered now as for how this hearing works basically all testimony is taken by questions and answers I'll ask each of you questions and then when I finish each of you will have time to ask each other any questions now is there anything about this procedure which you don't understand when do I get to ask questions I'll help you keep track of when it's your time to ask or answer questions the scene you just witnessed is the beginning of an unemployment compensation appeal hearing like the hearing you will attend this program is designed to help you prepare for that hearing keep in mind that what you are about to see are short depictions of real hearings your hearing will be longer and go into greater detail federal and state law entitle you to a fair hearing if you disagree with a local unemployment offices decision to grant or deny benefits fair hearing means an impartial appeals referee will decide your case after considering all of your testimony and evidence the Employment Security Appeals Division will assign an appeals referee to hear your case it's their job to make sure you understand the proceedings and have the time you need to present any information relevant to your case but there's a lot you can do before your hearing to make sure you're ready first a few basic ground rules it is very important that you be on time for your hearing if you don't show up you will likely lose you should bring witnesses and any documents or other evidence which could help you with your case even if these documents or witnesses were presented before at the local unemployment office in order to keep your hearing truly impartial and independent of your local unemployment office all the evidence presented at the appeals hearing will be considered this is very important papers letter statements any evidence that was presented at the local office will normally be introduced as an exhibit at the appeals hearing to be safe however you should bring extra copies of these and any other relevant documents with you if there was only one point that we can make at this time it would be prepare this appeal hearing will likely be your last opportunity to present your case so do it thoroughly why now let's go back to the hearing we were watching in this case the former employee believes she was fired the employer disagrees and says she quit the appeals referee will decide after hearing the evidence now as you watch the hearing ask yourself whether the people involved are properly prepared do you swear or affirm that the testimony you're about to give is the truth to the best of your knowledge and belief yes when did you work at Emily's cafe up until June 5th for 6 months you were waitress yes what were your hours I worked 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday to Friday who was responsible for scheduling your hours Emily the boss she always put up the schedule on Fridays before the weekend but I always had the same schedule what was the next day that you were scheduled to work after June 5th I never was Emily took my name off the schedule like I said I work pretty regular hours and I generally don't check the schedule unless I know there's going to be some change so anyway I got a call on Saturday night from Helen she's another waitress and she said Emily my boss had taken my name off the schedule she said Emily told her that she wasn't going to schedule me anymore so I tried to contact Emily that weekend but she was in Boston so on Sunday I went in to check it out and my name wasn't on the schedule so Monday I went and filed for unemployment why didn't you ask Helen to come here and testify Helen why would I I mean she'd say the same thing that I just did I didn't think it was necessary besides she still works there and coming here to get in an argument with her boss I didn't think she'd do it okay is there anything else no mr. Everett do you have any questions of Miss Christmas she's wrong Emily never said she was fired mr. Everett this is your opportunity to ask questions in a minute I'll hear your testimony okay did you hear Emily say you were fired well no okay didn't you tell Helen that you were going to quit anyway because it was too hard to work and take care of your son no I've complained about how hard it is to work and raise a child but I never said I was gonna quit don't you go trying to lay this on me what are you talking about you know exactly what I'm talking about mr. Chrisman and mr. Everett we're just here to gather facts not to have an argument so unless you have any other questions of Miss Chrisman mr. Everett I think that we can go ahead to your testimony okay no no I have no further questions but I don't care what she says she quit I didn't fire mr. Everett you'll have all the time that you need to tell your story but first I'm a swear you in will you raise your right hand would you swear affirm that the testimony that you're about to give is the truth to the best of your knowledge and belief yes what is your position at Emily's cafe I'm the general manager and co-owner along with Emily my wife and who is responsible for making the schedule of the waitresses emily was Miss Chrisman scheduled to work the week of Monday June the 7th well she would have been if she called in or come in on the seventh of filing for unemployment Emily did take her off for a week just so she sit up and take notice I mean she was coming in late and leaving early way too often we were fed up but Emily never fired her and she never said that to Helen well why isn't Emily here today to testify as to what she told Helen it's 9:00 in the morning it's it's more busy it was easier for me to come yes but she was the one that had the conversation so her testimony would be more reliable she was there okay is there anything else no that's it we just wanted her to pay attention come in on time you know mr. Chrisman any questions why didn't you call me and tell me that I was off the schedule well we figured you'd come in your regular time on Monday and we'd discuss it I think you're more interested in collecting unemployment than you are in keeping a job that's not true if you have no other questions miss Chrisman now that you've heard mr. Everett's testimony do you have anything else to add well like I said they were just looking for a way to get rid of people that's a lie we laid off one waitress and that's it mr. Everett miss Chrisman do either of you have anything new to add no I guess not no okay that being the case this hearing is officially closed based on the evidence presented at this hearing I will be making a decision in writing which both of you will receive in the mail and I thank you for your participation this is a case of poor preparation on the part of both these people miss Chrisman could and should have brought Helen here to testify that she heard Emily say that she was fed up with Christmas and was not going to schedule her anymore and mr. Everett should perhaps have stayed at the cafe and said Emily instead since Emily had more direct information about this case it's important to think these things through both these people were relying on what someone else had told them and his Grisman heard from Helen mr. Everett heard from his wife that's called hearsay and it's admissible as evidence but it's not as reliable as testimony from someone who directly witnessed the events as you can see an appeal hearing is carefully controlled by the appeals referee this is done to make sure each person has the same opportunity to present their case here are some other important points once the appeals division receives an appeal it will be scheduled promptly you will be sent a notice stating when and where the hearing is to take place BRE this notice carefully liked this video it will help you prepare for your hearing carefully note the date time and location of your hearing if you are unable to attend you may request a postponement of the hearing postponements are granted only for good cause such as a serious illness or an emergency our telephone number is right on the notice granting of a postponement is at the discretion of the appeals division late request will usually be denied you are expected to provide your own competent interpreter if one is needed if you or any witness you expect to bring does not speak English well and you cannot obtain an interpreter call us immediately if you have other special needs you should also call us immediately you may be represented by a lawyer if you choose however you will receive equal treatment whether you hire a lawyer or not if you feel your case is complicated and you're uncomfortable presenting it yourself you have the right to have a lawyer present at your own expense if you feel you need a lawyer but cannot afford one you may contact any appeals Division office or Job Center for a list of organizations that may provide free or reduced cost representation to qualified persons a subpoena to compel the attendance of uncooperative parties is possible if they are critical to your case the same applies to records that you cannot otherwise obtain if you feel you need a subpoena notify the appeals division immediately the appeals referee will determine whether the subpoena is necessary let's take a look at another hearing this time you'll notice both a witness and a lawyer are present once again notice whether the participants seem prepared miss sue do you swear that the testimony you are about to give is true to the best of your knowledge and belief I do missile what was your position at the nursing home I was a unit coordinator and what were your major responsibilities I had to supervise nurses and aides keep records of resident care and sometimes help with the care myself would you explain your reason for leaving well it started when I injured my back my second week of work I was helping lift a patient out of her wheelchair into bed when I felt this pain in my back I said something to Joan Abramson a nurse's aide who was helping me and then I went back to work I didn't think it would be so bad and it kind of wasn't for a day or two but it kept getting worse and then one day I just couldn't stay on my feet so I called in sick I felt a little better the next day so I went back to work but after that it just kept coming back did you see a doctor yes dr. John Morgan his comments are in this letter I will mark this as claiming exhibit number one mr. Osgood I believe you were sent a copy of this letter yes I've seen it as attorney by object-- this letter is hearsay dr. Morgan is not here for questioning so I don't see how we can accept this letter it's a diagnosis of missiles back condition of course of treatment it is sufficiently reliable the doctor has no interest in the outcome of this case it contains medical diagnostic information I will overrule your objection missile what effect did your back condition have on your ability to work some days my back was okay other days not so well I came in when I could and then he started hassling me threatening to fire me so I left would you explain what you mean when you say he hassled you he kept threatening to fire me if I didn't show up for work every day I injured myself at work and I figure I should be able to get well without being hassled how many times did he as you put it threatened to fire you practically every day I worked is there anything else mrs. Toole no mr. Jordan any questions yes isn't it true you didn't file a workers comp claim until the week later then you say the injury occurred yes but as I said just answer the question yes or no miss sue may complete her answer did you wait a week yes as I said I just didn't think it was that serious I have no other questions okay miss sue you may bring in your witness Miss Abramson what was your relationship to miss sue I worked with her on the East Wing well actually I worked for her she was the unit coordinator as I understand it on February 23rd Missal helped you lift someone from a wheelchair into bed that's right tell me what happened well Cathy was on the patient's right side and I was on the left and we were lifting her from under the arms like we're trained to do and Cathy made a little sound Oh like that and then she grabbed her back so I asked her what was wrong and she said my back and so I got someone else to help me and Cathy went out front did she make any comments later that day or within the next few days no is there anything else no I don't think so okay miss sue would you like to question your witness yes jump do you recall my mentioning to you mr. Osgood's threats to fire me well I recall you saying something like that you said he was on your case I don't remember exactly what words you used but I think I recall you saying that mr. Osgood was upset with you thank you no other questions mr. Jordan do you have any questions for Miss Abramson yes miss Abramson isn't it true that miss Sewell never complained to you about back pain after that incident well I guess so um but why would she complain to me I'm not her supervisor do you swear that the testimony you are about to give is true to the best of your knowledge and belief I do mr. Jordan I'll be asking some initial questions and then you may ask your questions okay mr. Osgood would begin by telling me exactly how often missile was absent well if you look at her employee file you can see that missile missed work every one to two weeks she'd only been with us for three months and in her position we needed someone now who's at work regularly when it became clear that she was suffering from back pain we offered her other work which wouldn't stress her back but she declined is there anything else well yes she claims that I hustled her and that's not true I simply told her on two different occasions that we needed her at work and as you can see both those conversations are noted in her employment file and that's all there is to it okay thank you mr. Osgood mr. Jordan do you have any additional questions yes mr. Osgood when Miss Sewell quit were you given any medical evidence to support her claim that she injured herself at work no no further questions okay miss sue do you have any questions for mr. Osgood no no questions well thank you if neither of you have any additional questions or comments this hearing is closed both mr. Osgood and midsole were very well prepared missile knew the facts and brought a witness someone who had actually seen the incident in which she contends she was injured although the employer brought a lawyer and she didn't she presented her case very well mr. Osgood knew the facts too and he brought missiles employee file as evidence each of them did as much as they could to present the facts that would help their case you've now seen parts of two different in-person hearings some hearings however do not take place in person but rather take place over the telephone mr. farmer can you tell me exactly how you injured your back at the store in a telephone hearing the same procedures apply except that testimony is taken by fall the appeals referee conducts the hearing in the same way using the question-and-answer format and you have the same opportunities to present your case and question the other people involved and one other important point if yours will be a telephone hearing any documents or other similar types of evidence you'd like to present must be mailed to the referee and the opposing party before the hearing telephone hearings are the exception of the rule the preferred method is the in-person hearing telephone hearings however are granted for a cause such as an individual who lives out of state or is otherwise unavailable the granting or denying of a telephone hearing is at the discretion of the appeals division the hearing notice will advise you if the hearing is to be conducted by telephone and will provide you with the information needed to take part now let's review first of all prepare think through your case ask yourself what information documents and witnesses will help establish the facts in your favor and make sure you know the relevant dates of key events choose witnesses who have direct personal knowledge or experience of events about the case if you are an employer don't just bring a personnel director because they fire the worker bring the supervisor or someone who saw or heard what happened to cause the firing if you're a claimant don't bring your spouse because they know you're telling the truth bring a witness to key events someone who can help support your case remember a witness who can be questioned will carry more weight than a written statement stick to the facts emotions usually just cloud the issue and prevent you from presenting your case best organize the facts on paper make a list of the important dates and the points you'd like to make to support your case then make another list of the points you think the opposing party may make consider what you will say or ask in response if you have any questions or special needs please refer to the appeals guide that will be mailed to you prior to the hearing if you are still unsure of what to do call us immediately our telephone number is on the top of the hearing notice remember the hearings you have seen are merely a depiction of what will actually take place at your hearing they are meant to give you a sense of what will occur to help you better prepare in the end if you pay attention to these few details you should be as prepared as you can possibly be on the day of your hearing

Channel: Connecticut Department of Labor

Views: 12,212

Keywords: CTDOL

Id: zNLIaQriCig

Length: 20min 4sec (1204 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 25 2019