Home
» Hearings »
Telephone Hearing Info
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE TELEPHONE HEARING
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING THE HEARING
• The party answering the appeal (the RESPONDENT) should be present. If the respondent chooses not to participate, the hearing officer will base the decision on the testimony of the appellant, appellant's witnesses, and evidence admitted in the hearing.
• If you have a call blocking or number recognition feature on your telephone, you are responsible for assuring that the hearing officer can reach you. If the hearing officer cannot reach you because of such a feature, you will be considered not available for the hearing.
• If the hearing officer decides that the claimant should not have received previously paid unemployment benefits, the claimant will be required to repay those benefits unless the claimant requests and is granted a waiver of the requirement for repayment.
• Documents from the Unemployment Insurance Division file have been marked with identifying numbers and are included with this notice. You should have these with you for the hearing. Documents from this packet may be proposed for admission into evidence at the hearing. Only documents actually admitted into the record by the hearing officer will be used to make a decision in the case.
• Any DOCUMENT you wish to have included as evidence at the hearing, and which is not already included in the packet, needs to be submitted to BOTH this office and any other party to the case BEFORE the hearing begins. If either the other party or the Hearings Bureau has not received the documentary evidence before the hearing, it cannot be entered into evidence and will not be considered. You may FAX documents to the Hearings Bureau at (406)444-2689. Do not use any other department fax number, as the Hearings Bureau will not receive the transmission in time for the hearing.
• You should be prepared to have witnesses testify to facts important to your case. Written statements, by themselves, may be objectionable on hearsay grounds and may not be sufficient. Even if written statements are admitted, they will generally not carry the same weight as witness testimony.
• You may request a hearing in which the hearing officer, the claimant, the employer, and any witnesses are present in person to hear and present testimony and evidence. If you prefer an in person hearing instead of a telephonic one, you must notify us no less than five days before the scheduled hearing date. In person hearings will be scheduled in Helena. Upon arriving, please check in at the reception desk on the first floor.
• The hearing is a public proceeding, and the record of the hearing and the decision are public records. If a hearing participant intends to place into evidence testimony or documents which should not be part of the public record for privacy or confidentiality reasons, the party requesting non-disclosure must ask the hearing officer that the evidence be sealed. Once evidence is made part of the public record, it cannot thereafter be withdrawn from the record and sealed from the public.
• Because we can only postpone hearings for emergency situations, please request POSTPONEMENTS with as much advance notice as possible. Based on the reason for your request and related factors, we will decide whether we can grant your request.
• You are not required to be REPRESENTED BY AN ATTORNEY, but either party may choose to be represented. If you have an attorney, please provide this office with the attorney's name, address, and telephone number prior to the hearing.
See the online brochures for other useful information.