For many employers (most actually), protesting unemployment claims that should not be paid (based on the separation reason) is a source of frustration and seems to be a study in futility – after all, the average employer only wins about half the time.  Some employers get so frustrated with the process and with losing that they stop protesting altogether.  Why do employers lose protests?  Well there are several reasons for it:

1. Poor or missing employee documentation – this is the number one reason that employers lose UI protests.
2. Poor or missing policies and processes – if your policies do not fit Federal and State UI laws, then you have already lost the protest.
3. Missed timeliness deadlines – if you protest too late then you lose automatically no matter how strong your case may be.
4. Lack of understanding of your State’s UI Laws and processes – if you don’t have at least a basic understanding of how your state UI system works (and it’s laws) then you have a very reduced chance of navigating the system and winning UI protests.  If you don’t have this understanding – get help from an expert.

Let’s discuss reason number 1 in a bit more depth.  Employee documentation covers a number of categories:

• New Hire Paperwork – answers to interview and applicant questions can be of use when battling an unemployment claim.  Perhaps the employee lied about their licensing or skillset, they lied about how far they are willing to travel for a job or the hours that they will work, or any number of other items that can be used in a UI protest.
• Developmental – Training documentation or employee reviews can be of great use when fighting improper unemployment claims, but beware that these items do not hurt your case.  Poor training or poorly handled employee reviews can come back to bite you – if you are telling the Unemployment agency that the employee has had ongoing issues in an area that led to their termination, yet their review does not reflect this issue – your case is in the toilet.
• Corrective Action – this is the centerpiece of any UI protest.  Do you show a pattern of offense by the employee?  Is your disciplinary documentation properly done?  Do you have a policy against this type of action?  Did the employee sign an acknowledgement of the rules (usually the employee handbook, safety policies, etc.)?  These are all questions that need to be answered with a “yes” if you want to win.
• Separation documentation – Did the employee sign off on the separation paperwork (if not – did you have a witness sign off that it was given)?  Did you send an Exit Interview form to the employee (sometimes their answer can bolster your case)?  Did you fill out the separation paperwork properly?  These answers can bolster or crush your protest win chances.

If your company has a strong Human Resources Department, they should be put to work making sure that your organization has a strong program in place for meeting the criteria detailed above (and they still should seek expert help in evaluating and improving this process).  If you do not have a strong HR department (or don’t have on at all), then seek help immediately with a consulting firm to shore up these processes and get a UI cost management program into place – you will save tens or hundreds of thousands (or in some cases – millions) of dollars in UI Taxes – making it an expense worth spending!