What to expect at your Unemployment Hearing in Michigan

You have received your notice of telephone Unemployment Appeal Hearing from the State of Michigan.  What are some things you should know?

1. What is an Unemployment Hearing?

Your hearing is a legal proceeding. Almost all unemployment hearings in the State of Michigan are held by telephone. However, just because the hearing is by telephone does not mean that it is not still a formal, legal hearing. You will be testifying and presenting evidence under oath. The hearing will be conducted by an Administrative Law Judge using Rules of Evidence.  

2. Prepare for your Hearing.

Gather all your documents, depending on your case and issues, and send them in to the Office of Administrative Hearings as instructed on your notice. You should include any documents that you think might support your claim that you are entitled to benefits, such as tax returns showing when you worked, emails or text messages showing why you were released from employment.  The documents you need will greatly depend on your specific case.

Do you have anyone who will be able to be a witness on your behalf, will they appear voluntarily, or will you need to have them subpoenaed?  If they must be subpoenaed, then that must be done in advance of the hearing.  Consider and prepare questions for what you will ask the witness for supporting your claim.

If you have a statement that you want to make to the Judge about why you should get benefits, have that written out beforehand. This will help if you get nervous during the hearing and forget things you wanted to say to the Judge.

Think about questions that the Judge may ask you and have your answers ready.       

3. What to Expect at Your Hearing

• Your Notice will tell you whether you will be calling in or the Judge will call you.
• Assume that your hearing will start on time as scheduled, the Judge will usually only wait about 5 to 10 minutes for you and then will have the hearing without you.
• The hearing will usually only last an hour or less
• The Judge will ask you to raise your right hand and swear to tell the truth. Once you swear to tell the truth, you must tell the truth under penalty of perjury.
• The Judge will state what the issues are in your case and who has the Burden of Proof, described below
• The Judge will let you explain why you feel that you are entitled to the unemployment benefits.
• If you have documents, which you sent the Judge, you should explain to the Judge what the documents are and why they are important.  Then you should ask the Judge to make the documents Exhibits to the Hearing.    
• If your employer has a representative at the hearing you may be cross examined by the Employer’s representative.
• If the Employer or the Agency presents witnesses, you may cross-examine those witnesses.       
• The Judge may ask you questions about your case
• The Judge will have other hearings that day so the Judge will want you to present your case clearly and succinctly.
• If you present your case correctly, the Judge will usually give you the benefit of the doubt as the employee.  

These are just general guidelines for what you can expect at your hearing. They are not intended to be legal advice and they cannot cover every situation. If you have any questions or require assistance for your case, please either call us at 248-593-6933 or email us now.   

Nanette Cortese, Esq.

Burden of Proof is entirely dependent on the case details.  Will your former employer have anyone to testify at the Hearing against you? Pre-COVID hearings typically included an employer contesting your unemployment benefits. Since PUA (COVID Pandemic Unemployment Assistance) the State of Michigan has told people they owe money back without an employer protesting.  Therefore, there may not be anyone challenging your entitlement to benefits, therefore the Burden of Proof will fall on you.