What is Good Cause for a Late filing for Weekly Unemployment Benefits.

by Cindy

(Kentucky)

Question: What is Good Cause for a Late filing for Weekly Unemployment Benefits?

Filed for UI in Kentucky.
I misread, or was not thinking clearly and missed calling in for benefits.

When I went to the UI office on date for recheck, told the UI worker I misread the letter and ask to back date the claim. I was denied for not showing “good cause” for failure to file at an earlier date.

There is no legal definition in KY of good cause for late filing. I made an honest mistake. Does the law allow for an honest mistake? I am going to file an appeal. Help Thank you

Answer

Hi Cindy,

I doubt you’ll like what I have to say, but I wish you luck with your appeal anyway.

I am not aware of an honest mistake, or not thinking clearly, being good cause for a late filing anywhere(I assume you mean you didn’t certify for one week of benefits and they have refused to back date to make you timely .. so you can get paid for one or two weeks of benefits).

The determination finding a lack of good cause sounds correct to me .. in my humble opinion. It’s precisely what I’d expect if I were the one who forgot to certify by the deadline. I know I’d be certain to know it because i would of read the claimant handbook cover to cover. .. and probably, more than once.

Besides, I’d know it’s not like I’d be losing those benefits completely .. they are just delayed.

You can collect them on the back end, if necessary, because a benefit year is generally twice as long as the duration any state will pay regular unemployment benefits .. usually 26 weeks, but some have changed their laws to limit the duration to as little as 20.

That benefit year is good to collect any balance of benefits until it exhaust or some other eligibility issue prevents you from collecting them .. like refusing work or quitting a job you should of refused because it was unsuitable.

Here’s the thing, there just isn’t anyone else to hold responsible for the failure to file in accordance with the rules, that you, the one that didn’t take enough care to file for money you seemingly need bad enough to appeal for a back date.

It’s not the state’s fault for failing to send you everything they are supposed to, or to the wrong address.

It’s not the United States Post Office fault for not delivering the information provided by the state to you, or mis-delivering it to a neighbor that might of tossed it.

It’s not due to some unforeseen circumstance out of your control .. like you, getting in an accident and winding up incapacitated in the hospital (which would of made you not able and available for work .. anyway if you did manage to file).

My thought is it would be better to accept responsibility and learn the UI agency means business when it comes to deadlines and they don’t care one iota about honest mistakes .. unless that’s what a person gets fired for making.

Chris

Comments for What is Good Cause for a Late filing for Weekly Unemployment Benefits.

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Dec 12, 2013
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Chris, You are right.

by: Don

Chris, your are correct that the State has no desire to pay UI on a missed claim. Human error is not just cause. I am guilty of such human error and have been denied back date of these claims. I also had an appeals hearing to which I was denied. I am in the process of filing another appeal in hopes that my error which is causing my family to struggle, will some how be accepted and the claim paid. I disagree with your candid statement that “you should have cared more about getting the money”. I need the money and I have consistently entered all requirements for filing. Except this one time where for some reason, I failed to. Human error happens, it’s a shame that the UI folks never make one so that they may understand crap happens.
The money is still needed and I am to blame. It’s not fun having your family know this.

You’re right, if I told you personally somewhere you should of cared more .. that might be out of line and calloused sounding, however, all I could find in my answer to Cindy from Kentucky was ..

“Here’s the thing, there just isn’t anyone else to hold responsible for the failure to file in accordance with the rules, that you, the one that didn’t take enough care to file for money you seemingly need bad enough to appeal for a back date.”

As a matter of semantics .. and that is important when it comes to the intent of a law, I didn’t tell Cindy she didn’t care, but that she didn’t take enough care.

As far as a UI dept. and human errors they make, I know where there is evidence to prove some states made repetitive life affecting blunders quite frequently and during the recession most also, performed quite far outside the federal timeliness guidelines for resolving disputed claims and appeals.

Unfortunately for the unemployed of a lower performing state, the consequences usually have something to do with the size of the operational grant a state receives from the federal government to operate their mandated partnership program of administering unemployment insurance laws .. which still vary by state in generous attitude toward the unemployed.

Don, I do not intentionally try to offend anyone with the words I write. But of course, I know to not offend, or garner some level of cordial disagreement is also impossible.

Thanks for being cordial .. much better than the comments pissed off employers feel they need to leave.

Chris

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