Alaska Unemployment Appeal Deadline | Unemployment Claim Map

Levels of appeal and deadlines

Appeal to the Appeal Tribunal

DOLWD Appeals (Appeal Tribunal, appeals officer)

Deadline

30 calendar days from the date the determination was mailed to you (or the date you were notified in person)

How to file

Phone, fax, mail or email your appeal to your UI claim center or to the Appeal Tribunal Office: phone 1-800-232-4762, fax 907-308-2868, email appeals@alaska.gov. Include your Social Security number or claimant ID and the issue you are appealing. Appeals will mail you a notice of hearing; contact Appeals if you do not get it within three weeks.

Where to send it

Appeal Tribunal Office, P.O. Box 241767, Anchorage, AK 99524

Fax: 907-308-2868

It must include

Your Social Security number or claimant ID
The issue (determination) you are appealing

If it is late

The 30-day period can be extended for a reasonable time if you show the delay was caused by circumstances beyond your control.

While you appeal

Keep certifying (filing your weekly or biweekly claims).

Law: AS 23.20.340(e), 23.20.415

Official source: Source page

Appeal to the Commissioner (department review)

Commissioner, Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development

Deadline: 30 calendar days from the date the Appeal Tribunal decision was mailed or delivered to you
How to file: Follow the appeal instructions in the Appeal Tribunal decision. The Commissioner must review your case if the tribunal reversed or changed the original determination; otherwise review is at the department's discretion.
If it is late: The 30-day period can be extended for a reasonable time if you show the delay was caused by circumstances beyond your control.
While you appeal: Keep certifying (filing your weekly or biweekly claims).

Law: AS 23.20.430, 23.20.435

Official source: Source page

Appeal to the superior court

Deadline: 30 calendar days from the date the Commissioner's decision (or the notice denying review) is mailed or otherwise distributed to you
What to know: If you disagree with the Commissioner's decision, you can appeal to the Alaska superior court within 30 days from the date the decision is mailed or otherwise distributed to you. The 30 days do not start until the department issues a decision that clearly says it is final and that you have 30 days to appeal. The notice of appeal must be served on the department and on the Attorney General.

Law: AS 23.20.445; Alaska R. App. P. 602(a)(2)

Every state must give a fair hearing before an impartial tribunal to anyone whose claim is denied.

Law: 42 U.S.C. 503(a)(3) (Social Security Act sec. 303(a)(3))

Appeal deadline calculator

Pick the appeal and enter the date it runs from. We add the days from the state's rule to that date.

Appeal request letter

Fill in the boxes and get a letter you can print or send. You write the reasons in your own words. The letter is in English because the agency works in English.

Date of the letter (required)

Your full name (required)

Your mailing address (required)

Your phone (optional)

Your email (optional)

Which appeal is this letter for?

Date on your notice (required)

How will you send it?

Address printed on your notice (required)

Copy the address where your notice says to send it.

The decision you are appealing (in your own words) (required)

Why you disagree (in your own words)

Write it yourself, in English. We do not suggest what to say.

Anything else your notice asks you to include (optional)

Sign the letter and keep a copy. Keep certifying while you appeal.

Other formats

Preview (the English text you send)

Hearing preparation checklist

Logistics and rights from your state's hearing information, plus your own list of witnesses and documents.

The hearing

Format: Hearings are held by telephone or in person. For a phone hearing, you must be at your contact phone number for the call. Testimony is under oath and recorded.
Documents and witnesses: Bring or send documents that relate to the issue, such as warnings, time sheets, payroll records, medical reports or childcare statements. Witnesses are better than written statements, which count as hearsay; have a witness ready to join by phone.
Subpoena: The hearing office can issue subpoenas if a crucial witness will not testify voluntarily or will not provide needed documents. Contact the hearing office.
Interpreter: Telephone interpreter services are free.
Representation: Most people appear without a lawyer. You may be represented at your own cost by a lawyer or any other person, such as a friend or family member. Give the Appeal Tribunal your representative's name and phone number.
If you miss it: If you filed the appeal and do not appear or answer within 15 minutes after the start time, the appeals officer may dismiss the appeal or uphold the decision. To postpone for good cause, call 1-800-232-4762 right away before the hearing.

Law: AS 23.20.420; AS 8 AAC 85.153

Overpayments and waivers

You must repay benefits you were overpaid, even if they were paid in error. DOLWD mails a Determination of Liability and Overpayment Summary and sends monthly statements. If DOLWD finds you knowingly made a false statement or hid a fact to get benefits, you also owe a penalty of 50% of those benefits, and current and future benefits may be withheld.

Appeal within: 30 days from the date the notice of determination of liability was mailed or delivered, whichever is earlier
Fraud penalty: 50% added when the overpayment is fraud
Waiver: The state can waive some overpayments.
The standard: DOLWD may forgive all or part of an overpayment if you acted in good faith in claiming and receiving the benefits and recovering them would be against equity and good conscience.
How to ask: Request a waiver within 30 days from the date the liability notice was mailed. Fill out DOLWD's Overpayment Waiver Application, print it and return it as the form directs; a specialist reviews it and issues a determination.
Waiver form: Overpayment Waiver Application
How the state collects: Overpayments are taken out of current and future benefits. You can set up a repayment agreement or assign part of your Permanent Fund Dividend by calling Audit & Recovery at 1-888-810-6789. If you do not appeal within 30 days, the court can enter a judgment for the amount on DOLWD's request.

Law: AS 23.20.390; AS 23.20.390(b)

What federal law adds on overpayments

Whether an overpayment can be waived, and how to ask, depends on your state's law. See your state's page.
Your federal tax refund can be taken to pay a past-due state unemployment overpayment caused by fraud or by not reporting your earnings, once it is final under state law. Before this happens, the state must notify you and give you at least 60 days to show that the debt is not owed or not legally enforceable.
Law: 26 U.S.C. 6402(f)
For fraud overpayments, the state must add a penalty of at least 15 percent.
Law: 42 U.S.C. 503(a)(11)

Free help

Call 907-269-4700. Legal aid and other free help in Alaska → Official sources →

Appeal an unemployment denial in Alaska