Have you been denied unemployment compensation (UC) benefits under Section 401(c) of Pennsylvania’s unemployment compensation law? If you have applied for Pennsylvania unemployment compensation (UC) benefits and later received a Disqualifying Determination listing Section 401(c), you may be wondering what this means. Section 401(c) is cited by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor when there is a question of whether the claimant filed a valid application for benefits. The Disqualifying Determination may also indicate that the claim was identified as a result of fraud.
Don’t panic when you receive this determination. You have the right to appeal this determination and it usually only means that the Department of Labor is auditing the case for suspected fraud. I believe the Pennsylvania Department of Labor is simply doing their due diligence into an application for UC benefits before they decide to pay an applicant their benefits. I have found that Section 401(c) is often cited when the claimant resides outside of Pennsylvania or the employer is located outside of Pennsylvania.
The Disqualifying Determination will inform the claimant that they have the right to file an appeal within 21 days from the date the determination is mailed. If the determination is appealed, a hearing will be scheduled and the claimant will have an opportunity to establish that the application is valid. I have been successful in representing claimants that have been denied benefits under Section 401(c). During the hearing, I simply have the applicant verify their employment information so the UC Referee conducting the hearing understands that the UC claim submitted by the claimant was valid and legitimate.
If you received a denial under Section 401(c) and wish to retain an unemployment compensation attorney to assist you in filing an appeal and representing you at a referee hearing, please feel free to call me at (610) 417-6345.
