Description

This training addresses the Federal criteria used to measure the quality of Lower Authority Appeals hearings. It is designed for new and existing hearing officers, as well as any staff charged with reviewing and evaluating hearings as part of the quarterly Lower Authority Appeals Quality Review.

The content includes standards for hearings, standards for decisions, and information about the role of the interpreter in UI hearings and how a hearing officer should work with the interpreter. A practice exercise allows the hearing officer to evaluate the quality of a hearing, applying the Federal criteria to the case and filling out an electronic score sheet like one used in a quarterly peer review or a National Appeals Review. Optional content includes an overview of the Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) program for hearing officers and an overview of Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) and Trade Readjustment Allowances (TRA) for hearing officers.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s (USDOL), Employment and Training Administration (ETA)’s Office of Unemployment Insurance (OUI) announced the availability of this training in TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT NOTICE (TEN) NO. 07-18. Subject: Availability of Unemployment Insurance (UI) Appeals Hearing Officer Training.

The content includes:

• An explanation of the role of the USDOL in the oversight of states' Unemployment Insurance (UI) appellate processes
• An explanation of how the quality of lower authority appeals is determined using 31 quality measures
• The significance of eight of the 31 criteria, which address the fundamental elements of “due process” and “fair hearings”
• A sample hearing for hearing officers to score using the 31 quality measures, so they may understand how their appeals hearings are measured during state quarterly reviews and National Appeals Reviews
• A description of the statutes and regulations that apply to the DUA program appeals process and explain how the DUA appeals process differs from UI appeals
• A description of TAA program and the statutes and regulations that apply to one of its benefits--the payment of TRA and the TRA appeals process.