Appellate Division Appeals

If the Board of Review of the Department of Labor issues a decision, it is the final decision of the agency.  The only remaining appeal is to file an appeal to the Superior Court of New Jersey Appellate Division.  An Appellate Division appeal is very complicated and requires substantial research and skill to prepare.  Furthermore, the appeal must be filed within 45 days or else the appeal is lost.  A very low percentage of pro se appellants have been successful in reversing a disqualification from the Board of Review.  In order to prevail it is necessary to convince a panel of two or three appellate judges that the Board acted arbitrarily or capriciously or that the Board acted contrary to the law.  Appellants are required to prepare a legal brief and to argue the merits of the appeal before a panel of judges.

We have successfully brought many unemployment appeals to the Court, and in doing so, we have been responsibility for establishing new case that has resulted in expanded protections for the unemployed, and the protection of due process rights for claimants. Some of our recent landmark successes include Silver v. Board of Review, which clarified the standards for misconduct and severe misconduct; Alicia v. Board of Review, which held that the Board of Review must provide notices in the primary language of the Claimant, and Dye v. Board of Review, which made it clear that negligent conduct, even in a medical setting, cannot constitute misconduct.

We have fought in Court for the rights of the unemployed the fair application of unemployment law.  We filed suit to prevent the Department of Labor from disqualifying employees who were terminated due to negligence and not misconduct. In Re N.J.A.C. 12:17-2.1 (add link).  We also appeared at the New Jersey Supreme Court as amicus on behalf of employees, preventing the unfair application of the law.  McLaine v. Board of Review (add link); Haley v. Board of Review (add link).

Unfortunately, due to the amount of work involved in these appeals, they are not inexpensive, but we handle these cases for a relatively low flat fee, and under certain conditions, can handle these appeals on a contingent basis. To learn more about filing an Appellate Division unemployment appeal, call us immediately for a free initial telephone consultation. We will explain your rights and responsibilities and help to guide you through this difficult process.