NEW YORK UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE - HEARINGS AND APPEALS - REOPENING DEFAULT - CASE NO. 4

I believe the key factor in the ALJ's decision was Exhibit 2 presented here again. The assertions by the employer's representative that they tried to reach their witness by fax (when the witness had no fax) instead of by phone and that they attempted to reach the ALJ office 3 times without any supporting witness or documents simply did not establish "good cause" for a default.

The merits of the case: without going into specific detail, it appeared that the claimant's company laptop was broken and the employer, although notified of the issue, failed to repair it. The claimant had to use a personal computer to upload company information. On one occasion, a mistake was made which would not have been made if the company laptop was repaired and, based upon this one incident, the claimant was terminated and the employer claimed "misconduct".