District of Columbia Unemployment Appeal: Deadlines and Letter

Levels of appeal and deadlines

Appeal to the Office of Administrative Hearings (hearing before an Administrative Law Judge)

D.C. Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH), a separate agency from DOES

Deadline

15 calendar days from the date DOES mailed the Claims Examiner's Determination (not the date you received it); if it was not mailed to you or not to your correct address, 15 calendar days from when you actually received it

Counts as filed

on the postmark date or the date the agency receives it, as the state's rule says (check your notice)

Weekends and holidays

If the 15th day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.

How to file

File with OAH, not DOES: by mail or in person, by email to oah.filing@dc.gov (PDF attachments), or through the OAH E-Filing Portal. Use the Unemployment Benefits Appeal Form and include a copy of the DOES determination. A mailed appeal must be postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service (not a private postage meter) or received by OAH within the deadline. Emails received after 5 p.m. or on a non-business day count as filed the next business day. Keep the envelope the DOES decision came in.

Where to send it

Office of Administrative Hearings, One Judiciary Square, 441 Fourth Street NW, Suite 450 North, Washington, DC 20001-2714

File online

Fax: 202-442-4789

Official form

OAH Unemployment Benefits Appeal Form (UI-001)

It must include

Your name, mailing address, phone number and email (if any)
Whether you are the claimant or the employer
The last four digits of your Social Security number
Whether you most recently worked for the DC or federal government, and which agency
Your reason for filing the appeal
Whether you need an interpreter (and the language) or a reasonable accommodation
Your representative's name and contact information, if you have one
A copy of the Claims Examiner's Determination you are appealing
Your signature and the date

If it is late

The deadline can be extended if an Administrative Law Judge finds good cause or excusable neglect for the delay. You must prove at the hearing that you had a good reason; otherwise a late appeal may be dismissed.

While you appeal

Keep certifying (filing your weekly or biweekly claims).

Law: D.C. Code 51-111(b); OAH Rules 2805, 2981

Official source: Source page

Petition for Review in the District of Columbia Court of Appeals

Deadline: 30 calendar days from the date on the OAH Final Order
What to know: If you disagree with the judge's Final Order, you can file a Petition for Review with the D.C. Court of Appeals within 30 days (filing fee $100, or ask for a fee waiver). Instead, you can first ask the OAH judge to change the Final Order: if you file that request within 10 calendar days of the date OAH served the order (15 days if you got it only by regular mail), your 30 days to go to court start over after the judge rules. You cannot do both at the same time.

Law: D.C. Code 51-112; D.C. Code 2-510

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)

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: Most OAH hearings are remote by telephone using Webex; only a phone is needed. Your scheduling order explains how to join. You can ask to change to in-person or video with OAH's Request to Change Hearing Platform form.
Documents and witnesses: OAH does not have DOES's records. File copies of your documents with OAH and send (serve) copies to the other party by the deadline in your scheduling order, generally three business days before the hearing. At the hearing, ask the judge to admit each exhibit into evidence.
Subpoena: If a witness will not come voluntarily, or someone will not share important documents, ask the judge for a subpoena.
Interpreter: OAH provides a free certified interpreter on request. Ask on your appeal form or call 202-442-9094 as soon as possible. A friend or family member cannot interpret for you at the hearing.
Representation: You can represent yourself or have a lawyer or a non-attorney representative. The Claimant Advocacy Program gives free legal counseling to claimants and may represent some workers. Law school clinics may also help; the appeal form asks if OAH may share your contact information with one.
If you miss it: If you miss your hearing and still want one, ask for a new hearing in writing as soon as possible and explain your good reason. The judge can grant a new hearing even after issuing a Final Order.

Law: D.C. Code 51-111(c), (e); OAH Rules 2812, 2823, 2830

Overpayments and waivers

If you got benefits you were not entitled to, DOES sends a written notice of the amount and the reason. You must repay in full, in a lump sum or a payment plan, unless a waiver is granted. If DOES finds fraud, you also owe a 15% penalty and may be disqualified for up to one year after your benefit year ends.

Appeal within: 15 days from the date DOES mailed the overpayment determination
Fraud penalty: 15% added when the overpayment is fraud
Waiver: The state can waive some overpayments.
The standard: DOES may waive an overpayment if you received it without fault on your part and repaying it would be against equity and good conscience. Fraud overpayments cannot be waived.
How to ask: Complete, sign and return DOES's Request for Waiver of Overpayment form with supporting papers (such as recent pay stubs for your household) by email or mail to Benefit Payment Control within 30 calendar days of the date of the original Notice of Determination of Overpayment, unless you can show good cause for being late.
Waiver form: Request for Waiver of Overpayment (DOES)
Income: DOES asks for your household's monthly gross income and expenses to decide whether repayment would be against equity and good conscience.
How the state collects: DOES can take the overpayment from future unemployment benefits, intercept your DC and federal tax refunds (the federal refund only for an overpayment caused by fraud or unreported earnings, after a notice giving you at least 60 days to respond), garnish wages (including DC government wages), and take civil action. Mail payments to DOES, Benefit Payment Control Branch, 4058 Minnesota Avenue NE, Suite 3100, Washington, DC 20019. If you cannot keep up, you can ask DOES to renegotiate your payment plan.

Law: D.C. Code 51-119(d), (e)

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 202-724-7000. Legal aid and other free help in the District of Columbia → Official sources →

Appeal an unemployment denial in the District of Columbia