Agency Decision

If an employer does not agree with the decision regarding a former employee’s eligibility for unemployment benefits, the employer may appeal that decision. The former employee also has the right to appeal a denial of his claim for benefits. The right of appeal is available to claimants, employers, and the Commissioner.

An appeal will not interrupt benefit payments if the appeal is from an approved agency decision. Benefit payments will be subject to repayment by the claimant if the appeal results in the employer’s favor.

Employers who want to appeal a decision should do so at the earliest date possible and should be prepared to present their case on the date designated for the hearing. Hearings will be scheduled as promptly as possible, as delay could increase the amount of overpayments on approved claims which are later reversed. Continuances of hearings will be granted only under the most compelling circumstances.

Appeal to Appeals Tribunal

Once the Department makes the agency decision, any interested party may appeal to the Appeals Tribunal within 15 calendar days after the mailing of the decision.

The notice of appeal must be in writing and may be filed by letter or on the Notice of Appeal Form (LB-0572). Appeals to the Appeals Tribunal may be mailed or faxed to:

Appeals Tribunal
7th Floor
500 James Robertson Parkway
Nashville, TN 37245-0600
FAX: (615) 741-8933

An Unemployment Hearing Officer presides over an Appeals Tribunal hearing.

Appeals hearings are held by telephone or at a regional location near the local office where the claim was filed. The record made at that hearing is the basis for the subsequent decision.

An Appeals Tribunal’s Unemployment Hearing Officer’s decision becomes final 15 days from the date issued unless appealed to the Board of Review.

Appeal to Board of Review

NOTE: In the absence of an appeal to the Board of Review, the Unemployment Hearing Officer may, within 30 days after the date of mailing notification, reconsider his decision at which time he will notify the interested parties of his reconsidered decision and the reasons.

A notice of appeal to the Board of Review may be filed either by letter or on the Notice of Appeal Form. Appeals to the Board of Review may be mailed or faxed to:

Board of Review
7th Floor
500 James Robertson Parkway
Nashville, TN 37245-0700
FAX (615) 741-0290

Appeals to the Board of Review are decided on the basis of the evidence already in the appeals referee record, or the Board may take additional evidence to enable it to reach a decision. It is vital that the employer or his representative appear at each scheduled hearing.

In hearing an appeal on the record, the Board of Review may limit the parties to oral arguments, the filing of written arguments, or both. If the Board of Review needs additional evidence to enable it to reach a decision, the interested parties will be notified. The Board of Review may affirm, modify, or set aside any decision of the Unemployment Hearing Officer. Copies of the decision are mailed to all interested parties.

The decision of the Board of Review becomes final 10 days after the interested parties are notified, in the absence of a Petition to Rehear.

Appeal to Court

Within 30 days after the Board of Review’s decision has become final, any aggrieved party may file a Petition for Judicial Review in the Chancery Court of the county where the party resides. If the party resides outside the State of Tennessee, the Petition for Judicial Review may be filed in Davidson County, Tennessee.

Benefit Payments, Overpayments and Charges During Appeals

When a former employee appeals a denied claim, such individual will not receive benefits unless and until the denial is reversed. If the appeal results in the former employee's favor, the former employee will receive all back benefits he would have been eligible to receive had his claim been approved from the date of filing.

When an employer appeals an approved claim, the claimant will continue to receive benefits unless and until the decision has been reversed.

When a benefit eligibility decision is reversed in the employer's favor, an overpayment is established and the employer is not charged for benefits provided:

1.  the employer filed the Notice of Claim Filed and Request for Separation Information (LB-0810) on time, and
2.  the employer appeared at all scheduled Appeals Tribunal and Board of Review hearings, and
3.  the employer is not a reimbursing employer. (see EMPLOYER ACCOUNTS PROVISIONS, REIMBURSING EMPLOYERS, Benefit Payments and Charges).

The employer will be charged for his proportion of the benefits paid up until the time of the decision reversal, and the former employee will not be charged for a benefit overpayment in cases where:

1.  the employer does not respond on time to the separating employer's Notice of Claim Filed and Request for Separation Information but later appeals the decision and the decision is reversed in the employer's favor, or
2.  the employer does not appear at a scheduled Appeals Tribunal or Board of Review hearing but later appeals the decision and the decision is reversed in the employer's favor.