In Idaho, you may be eligible for unemployment benefits if you meet monetary eligibility requirements and personal eligibility requirements. You must be ready and able to work, and you must have quit your previous job with good cause related to the employment (wages, hours, working conditions of the job, etc.) or, if you were fired, you cannot have been fired for misconduct related to your employment.
After you file for unemployment, the Idaho Department of Labor will make an “Eligibility Determination,” the first decision made on your claim. The Department makes this determination using facts gathered by the local office. Following this initial determination, there are three higher authorities that can hear appeals.
- Appeals Bureau
First, either party—the employer or employee—has fourteen days to protest the Department’s initial Eligibility Determination to the Appeals Bureau, which is a branch of the Idaho Department of Labor. The protest must be in writing, and it must be mailed, faxed, or hand-delivered to the Appeals Bureau. It should also include the reasons you disagree with the Eligibility Determination. Following this notice, the Appeals Bureau will notify you by mail of the date and time of a telephonic hearing. At this hearing, the Appeals judge will allow both parties to present witnesses and evidence regarding the employment and facts relevant to determining eligibility. Following the telephonic hearing, the Appeals Judge will issue a written decision, which includes findings of fact and conclusions of law.
- Industrial Commission
Both parties have fourteen days to appeal the decision of the Appeals Bureau to the Idaho Industrial Commission, which is the first of two appellate entities outside of the Idaho Department of Labor. The Commission is not bound to the finding and conclusions made by the Appeals Bureau. As far as evidence goes, the Commission only reviews the documents before the Appeals Bureau and the telephonic hearing, unless the Commission determines that the “interests of justice require that the interested parties be permitted to present additional evidence.” If it makes this finding, the Commission can hear additional evidence or send the matter back to the Appeals Bureau. With regard to legal arguments, if a party requests, the Commission may agree to receive written arguments from the parties.
After what may take about three months, the Commission makes its decision, which becomes final within twenty days, unless the Commission accepts a party’s request to reconsider the decision or decides on its own to reconsider its decision.
- Idaho Supreme Court
After the Commission’s decision is final, the parties have fourteen days to appeal that decision to the Idaho Supreme Court. District courts serve as appellate courts for many administrative bodies, but they do not review decisions by the Commission. The Idaho Supreme Court has many requirements for filing an appeal, including preparing a record of earlier proceedings and submitting a notice of appeal that outlines the issues the Court should consider.
The first two stages of the appeal process explained above are rather simple—at least compared to many other appellate procedures in Idaho. However, the final stage of appeal to the Idaho Supreme Court can be difficult for even experienced attorneys to navigate.
Many other answers to your unemployment benefits questions not found here can be located in the Unemployment Insurance Claimant Handbook issued by the Idaho Department of Labor.
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