Appeal an unemployment denial in Massachusetts

Levels of appeal and deadlines

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.

Hearing preparation checklist

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

The hearing

Format

By phone, video (virtual) or in person. You choose your preferred method when you appeal. The Notice of Hearing gives the date, time, place or call-in details and your Claim ID and Issue ID. For a phone hearing, call the number on the notice about 5 minutes early and enter the PIN. For in-person hearings, arrive 15 minutes early with photo ID.

Documents and witnesses

Upload documents to your case file before the hearing: log in, select View appeal, then Upload appeal documentation. Examples: attendance and payroll records, pay stubs, emails and letters, evaluations, warnings, photos, and names and addresses of witnesses. For video or audio evidence, contact the Hearings Department early so it can approve the technology.

Interpreter

You can ask for an interpreter, free of charge, when you file your appeal.

Representation

You can have a lawyer or advocate, but find one right away; DUA will not postpone the hearing because you have not found one. DUA does not pay legal fees. A lawyer or advocate who charges you must get the fee approved by DUA before billing you.

If you miss it

If you asked for the hearing and are more than 10 minutes late, the hearing is canceled and your appeal is dismissed. If the other side does not come, the hearing goes on without them. To change the date or place, call the Hearings Department as soon as possible.

Law: M.G.L. c. 151A, sec. 39(b)

Overpayments and waivers

If DUA later decides you were not eligible for benefits it paid, it sends a Notice of Redetermination with the reason, the weeks and amount overpaid, any penalties, and how to appeal and ask for a waiver. You must repay even if the overpayment was not your fault, unless DUA grants a waiver. If DUA finds you at fault (you gave wrong information and knew or should have known it), you also owe 12% interest and a 15% penalty. Not reporting work while collecting can also bring penalty weeks before you can be paid again.

Respond within

DUA tells you before it redetermines your claim and gives you a chance to talk with staff about the new information.

Appeal within

10 days from the mailing date of the Notice of Redetermination (or Notice of Fault or Fraud Finding)

Fraud penalty

15% added when the overpayment is fraud

Waiver

The state can waive some overpayments.

The standard

DUA may waive repayment if you were not at fault and repaying would defeat the purpose of benefits or be against equity and good conscience. DUA looks at whether repaying would make it hard to pay ordinary expenses, whether you gave up other benefits (such as SNAP) to get unemployment, or whether you made a financial decision relying on the benefits. Overpayments due to fault or fraud cannot be waived.

How to ask

Request it online in Unemployment Services for Workers (View more benefit details, Additional services, Request for waiver of overpayment), or call 1-877-626-6800 to have the form mailed to you and send it to DUA, Attn: Benefit Collections Department, 100 Cambridge St, 4th Floor, Suite 400, Boston, MA 02114. You can ask again if your finances change. Money already paid is not refunded.

How the state collects

You can set up a payment plan with the Benefits Collection Department (617-626-6300). If you do not repay or ask for a waiver, DUA can take your state and federal income 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), reduce current or future unemployment benefits from any state, and sue you in District Court. DUA may also take up to 50% of your weekly benefit to repay an overpayment.

Law: M.G.L. c. 151A, sec. 69(a), (e); M.G.L. c. 151A, sec. 69(c)

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 1-877-626-6800. Legal aid and other free help in Massachusetts → Official sources →