UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE - APPEALS

Here's an interesting matter: your employment was terminated in August 2008. You applied for and were denied benefits. You seek a hearing, which takes several days and is finally concluded in April 2009. You win at the hearing, the administrative law judge rules in your favor, and you are receiving benefits. Is it all over? No. Employer appeals. Today I have a hearing with the Troy office, not on the merits of the appeal, but on whether the Employer timely filed a notice to request an appeal. This limited issue, not even dealing with the merits of the Employer's appeal, has been before the Appeals Board for over 5 months. So it is now November 2009, and we are still litigating over benefits which were to begin over 14 months ago. Why do I bring this up? To let you know that the process is not immediate, the wheels of justice grind slowly, and even if you are granted benefits, you may find yourself in litigation lasting a long time. These are the times and it is what it is.