Untimely Appeal of Florida Unemployment Compensation Decision May be Waived in Certain Cases for Good Cause Shown
Recently, we have seen many clients come into our Miami office seeking to overturn a decision of the Florida Unemployment Appeals Commission which denies them benefits because they filed an untimely appeal. Unfortunately, there is no recourse in many of these cases. The typical case is where a laid-off employee files for unemployment compensation benefits and the Agency for Workforce Innovation issues an initial determination granting benefits. Once benefits begin flowing in, the claimant sometimes disregards future notices, including appeals by the employer. However, this can be fatal and may result in a requirement that the claimant repay all of the monetary benefits that have paid to the claimant.
It is a fundamental requirement in Florida that if an employer or claimant wants to appeal a determination or decision regarding unemployment compensation benefits, the appeal must be filed within twenty (20) days of the determination or decision being mailed. The requirement is jurisdictional and completely divests the Commission of jurisdiction if it is not met. Many cases are dismissed because of an untimely appeal. Even a few days is fatal to the appeal.
However, Florida courts have carved out an exception to this rule in cases where the appeal was filed untimely due to force majeure events (acts of God) or due to causes completely outside the control of the claimant. The seminal case is Dumorange v. Florida Unemployment Appeals Commission, 947 So.2d 472 (Fla. 3rd DCA, 2006). In that case, a former City of Miami police officer was laid off and initially granted unemployment compensation benefits. The City of Miami appealed the determination and a hearing was held before an Appeals Referee, who decided that the claimant was discharged because of misconduct connected with the work. Approximately twenty-seven days after the Appeals Referee's decision was mailed, the claimant filed an appeal of the decision. However, the Florida Unemployment Appeals Commission ruled that the appeal was untimely and that under Florida Statutes Section 443.151(4)(c), it had no jurisdiction to hear an untimely appeal. The claimant then appealed to the Third District Court of Appeals and argued that he could not file his appeal within the required twenty-day period because he was adversely affected by Hurricane Wilma. The Court of Appeals took judicial notice of the fact that Hurricane Wilma disrupted the lives of virtually all residents of South Florida and that electrical power was lacking in the vast majority of homes and businesses in Miami-Dade County. The Court then stated that it would be a denial of due process to not give the claimant an opportunity to be heard and therefore remanded the case to the Commission to adjudicate the appeal.