Missing your unemployment hearing
If you don’t attend your hearing, you won't be able to present your new evidence, so you will probably lose the appeal and the decision will stay the same.
If you have a good reason for not attending, such as sudden illness, a car accident, or a personal emergency, you must present proof to ask for a new hearing date. Proof can be a police report, a diagnosis and treatment report from a doctor or medical facility, or similar. Overslept, on a job interview, unexpected appointment, forgot, someone did not remind you, lost the hearing notice, and similar excuses are not good reasons.
If your former employer filed the appeal and you don’t attend the hearing, the referee’s decision may be based solely on the employer’s testimony. If the referee rules in favor of the employer, you may have to repay all the unemployment compensation benefits you have received.
We strongly recommend that you attend the hearing unless you request and receive a postponement.