Clients in this situation are often at an insurmountable disadvantage to their former employer. Once the “record” is made during the hearing, the Pennsylvania Unemployment Compensation Board of Review (UCBR) is bound by the legally appropriate evidence. Therefore, the UCBR may be able to consider various “improper evidence” that should have been objected too in the first place, but the record is inherently set.
For example, a common situation at an unemployment compensation appeal hearings is that the employee and the employer’s Human Resources Representative attend the hearing. The employee, who can be anxious and unprepared for what is to come without an unemployment attorney on their side, states their ase which often amounts to “I didn’t do that” or “it really wasn’t that bad” or “yes I did that, but what was I supposed to do?” The HR counters with witness statements, investigation reports, and other surprise evidence all against the employee. The employee is often shocked and says, “How could these people say these things after I worked there all these years?” or “I can’t believe the HR person I knew all the years attacked me like that!” And all those things stated by the HR representative, all those witness statements, and any other documentation, if there is not a proper objection, will all be set in the record. When you then try to appeal your claim to the UCBR, even the best unemployment attorney may not be able to salvage your case. The unemployment compensation hearing record generally cannot be changed. What issues may I appeal to the Unemployment Compensation Board of Review (UCBR)?