The Unemployment Help Center, Ltd, represents Colorado Claimants at Colorado Unemployment Compensation Hearings and Appeals. We provide highly experienced Hearings Representatives who can, and will, fight for your Colorado Unemployment Compensation benefits

HOW MUCH COLORADO UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS WILL I RECEIVE

Click here: http://www.coworkforce.com/uibEstimator/

It is very important that you act promnptly when seeking help for your Colorado Unemployment Benefits - call or email us today using the form below

THE UNEMPLOYMENT PROCESS IN COLORADO

The Hearing

Before the Colorado Unemployment Compensation Hearing
If you have any evidence or documents you would like to use, you must provide copies to all interested parties listed in your hearing packet before the date of the hearing. Additionally, be sure to thoroughly read the hearing packet.
Colorado Unemployment Compensation Hearing Process
Hearings begin at the same time stated on the Colorado Unemployment Compensation Notice of Hearing and typically last about an hour. If you are participating in person, arrive at least 15 minutes early so that you have enough time to check in for the hearing. If you are participating by telephone, call at the time indicated on the Notice of Hearing.
Review the information in the Colorado Unemployment Compensation hearing packet before the hearing and be sure to have it with you for the hearing. If you have witnesses, bring them with you or provide their names and telephone numbers to the hearing officer.
The Colorado Unemployment Compensation hearing officer will explain the hearing process and the issues to be discussed in the hearing. The hearing officer will also question the parties and witnesses. You may question the other parties and they may question you. After all testimony is taken, the hearing officer will conclude the hearing.More>
Colorado Unemployment Compensation Decision
The hearing officer issues a written decision that is mailed as soon as possible to all interested parties. If you disagree with a hearing officer's decision, you may appeal that decision to the Industrial Claim Appeals Office.

To Qualify for Benefits in Colorado you must meet three requirements:

1.         Earned $2,500.00 during your “base” period;

2.         Become unemployed through no fault of your own (regardless of whether you were fired, quit or were laid off)

3.         Be able, available and actively seeking employment.

            Here at the Unemployment Help Center, Ltd. we have been representing Colorado Claimant’s with regard to all aspects of the unemployment process. We are very experienced with the procedure and process involved in a Colorado Unemployment Appeals Hearing as well as appeals to the Colorado Industrial Claim Appeals Office..

You or your employer may file an appeal and this is were the Unemployment Help Center comes into action – we will represent you at the Appeals Hearing, prepare you for that hearing and insure that your rights to Unemployment Compensation Benefits are protected.
Any appeal from a determination will be heard in a hearing before a hearing officer. All interested parties may participate in the hearing. You will receive a hearing notice packet with the date and time of your hearing and instructions on how to submit any additional documents or evidence you may wish to present. If you have additional evidence you wish to submit, you must be sure to deliver it to the hearing officer and all other interested parties before the day of the hearing.
The Unemployment Help Center will take care of all of the above for you. We will review your evidence, make submissions to the Hearing Officer as well as explain the proper strategy to winning your hearing. Often it is not what you say, but how you say it, that will win a hearing. We explain and prepare you to do just that - win your Colorado Unemployment Appeals Hearing.
Hearing Participation
You must participate in the hearing. The Colorado Unemployment Hearing Officer will make the decision based only on the testimony and evidence given at the hearing. We will be there with you representing your interest, questioning witnesses and providing argument to the Colorado Unemployment Hearing Officer.

We also handle further appeals to the Colorado Industrial Claim Appeals Office. These further appeals are done in writing and are based on the transcript of testimony from your “live” hearing. Contact us for a free consultation concerning your specific unemployment appeals case
________________________________________

SOME UNEMPLOYMENT NEWS:

The Colorado Springs area job market got both good and bad news for August: The jobless rate fell from the previous month while payrolls grew at the slowest rate this year.
According to data released Wednesday by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, the area's unemployment rate fell in August to 8.3 percent from 8.4 percent in June and July, but the decline resulted from nearly 500 area residents leaving the job market rather than finding jobs. To be considered part of the job market, people must either be employed or looking for work. The area's jobless rate was 9.2 percent a year ago.
Area payrolls - indicating the number of jobs added - rose in August by slightly less than 1 percent, compared with a year earlier - the first time payrolls have grown that slowly since December. Much of the slowdown resulted from job losses in the real estate, construction, retailing and tourism industries, which offset growth in education and health care.
The unemployment rate is calculated from the results of a survey of residents, while payroll data comes from a survey of employers. Both sets of data are compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which remained closed Wednesday as part of the federal government shutdown. The state labor department posted the data Wednesday on its website.
Tom Binnings, a senior partner of Summit Economics LLC, a local economic research and consulting firm, said the local economy benefitted earlier this year from the arrival of an aviation unit at Fort Carson and strong housing construction. But the gains from the aviation unit already have played out, and construction is starting to slow as mortgage rates rise. The local tourism and retail industries also took a hit from flooding that hit western El Paso and eastern Teller counties in August, which caused repeated closures of U.S. Highway 24 near Manitou Springs, he said.
"We are probably seeing the impact of the flooding as well as sequestration (automatic federal budget cuts) in the August numbers," Binnings said. "I was pleasantly surprised with the strength of the local economy during the first half of the year, but the strength during the second half will depend on how long the federal government stays shut down, how deep the next round of cuts will be in sequestration and how high mortgage rates go."
Unemployment rates fell in every other metropolitan area of the state except for Pueblo, which remained unchanged at 9.7 percent. Boulder had the lowest jobless rate among the seven metro areas at 5.2 percent.
The state's unemployment rate was 7 percent in August, down from 7.1 percent in July. The U.S. unemployment rate fell in August to 7.3 percent from 7.4 percent in July.

Find out how much you should receive in unemployment compensation in Colorado

http://www.coworkforce.com/uibestimator/

________________________

Preparing for your Colorado Unemployment Hearing:

PREPARE FOR THE HEARING

The appeal hearing before the hearing officer is your only chance to present everything relevant to the case.

The hearing officer is limited to considering only the evidence introduced during the hearing. Take advantage of this opportunity, and do not assume that, at a later date, new evidence or information can be added (see page 6, “New Facts Cannot Be Introduced at the Hearing”).

Take time to prepare for your hearing. Know the issue or issues involved, obtain documents, and arrange for witnesses supporting your side of the case. To help you remember what you want to present at the hearing, you may prepare a simple chart or written summary with the key information you want to present. Prepare all evidence, and be ready to explain company records, abbreviations, technical terms, and/or symbols.

Know the Issues Involved

Before the hearing, review the other party’s statement or statements attached to your hearing notice. Review the documents carefully so that you know what issues will be addressed at the hearing. This helps you to prepare, gather documents, and arrange for witnesses to support your case.

Prepare and Participate Even If You Are Not the Appealing Party

The hearing officer’s decision is based only on what is presented at the time of the hearing. You must participate and be prepared to present and

defend your position if you want your point of view to be considered. If you choose not to participate, the hearing goes forward without you, and the decision is based on the other party’s evidence presented at the hearing.

Prepare Facts

Facts, not conclusions, are the basis of a good case. Saying that an employer is unfair or that an employee is unsatisfactory is a conclusion. Prepare facts that prove the point you wish to make, and bring evidence and witnesses that can verify what you are presenting.

Prepare Your Appeal Based on Facts, Not on Philosophical Arguments or Proof of Financial Need

Respond to the issues under appeal. Prepare to prove your point of view on the issues under appeal, not on issues unrelated to the appeal.

Some people incorrectly think that unemployment insurance (UI) is based upon financial need. If you prepare only to argue that you need the money, you are not prepared to address the issue at hand.

EXCEPTION: If you are a claimant appealing a decision to deny a waiver of an overpayment, you must prepare facts to prove financial need.

New Facts Cannot Be Introduced at the Hearing

New facts, not contained in the UI Appeals file, cannot be introduced at the hearing. Anything new that you wish to include in the hearing must be provided ahead of time to the hearing officer and to other interested parties, so that they can prepare to respond. It is your responsibility to timely provide this information to the hearing officer and any other party (via mail, fax, personal delivery, etc.). The hearing officer and all interested parties must receive the information before the scheduled hearing.

Mail the new material to the hearing officer and to the addresses of the parties listed on the hearing notice.

New facts include whatever is not in the material provided to you with the hearing notice mailed by UI Appeals. For separation (loss of job) hearings, UI Appeals will send you copies of both your statement and the other party’s statement regarding the circumstances surrounding the separation. Any material not included in these documents is considered new.

If you do not provide the information before the hearing, the hearing officer will refuse to allow you to introduce it at the hearing unless you show good cause for your lack of action and the other party agrees to waive his or her right to review the material ahead of time. The hearing officer may

stop the hearing and schedule it for another time (called “continuing the hearing”).

Obtain Evidence

Evidence, including documents, photographs, charts, etc., that strengthens your case may be presented at the hearing. Gather such evidence before the hearing. Remember to provide copies ahead of time to the hearing officer and all parties listed on the hearing notice.

The best evidence of a document’s contents is the document itself. The hearing officer will make copies for the UI Appeals file. You can provide copies of the originals; it is not necessary for you to bring the original documents. The original documents should be available in case it is necessary to authenticate the original.

You can subpoena evidence that is not in your possession (see “Requesting Subpoenas for Documents and/or Persons” below).

Inform and Prepare Witnesses

An eyewitness to events can strengthen your case. If a witness is reluctant to participate, you can subpoena him or her (see “Requesting Subpoenas for Documents and/or Persons” below).

Avoid using witnesses who do not help your case. A person who has, in the past, made negative statements about you or about the events in question is likely to repeat those negative statements at a hearing.

Discuss your witness’s testimony with him or her before the hearing. There is nothing improper about doing so as long as you do not tell him or her what to say. You are preparing to respond factually to the issues at hand; you want your witness to do the same. After you have spoken to the witness, you may decide that his or her knowledge of the situation is not what you thought it was, and you may choose not to have that person testify.

REQUESTING SUBPOENAS FOR DOCUMENTS AND/OR PERSONS

The best way to prove your point is either through the testimony of an eyewitness or through the documents involved in the case. It is your responsibility to ensure that documents and witnesses are available at the time of the hearing.

When it appears that an important witness may not participate voluntarily or that a critical document is in the possession of another person, you may request that Unemployment Insurance (UI) Appeals issue a subpoena to require the person to participate or provide records.

Making the Request for Subpoenas

Requests for subpoenas must be made to UI Appeals as early as possible by calling 303-318-9299 (Denver-metro area) or 1-800-405-2338 (outside Denver-metro area). You may fax your request to 303-318-9247. Requests must specify the reason for the subpoena, to what each witness will testify, and the full address where the witness will be served the subpoena. If you are subpoenaing documents, a detailed description of the physical evidence is required. You must show that the testimony/documentation adds to your argument and does not repeat other information. A subpoena is not granted if it is determined that an undue burden would be placed on the party to whom it is directed or if the testimony adds nothing to your argument or repeats other information.

Obtaining and Serving Subpoenas

Once a request is granted, the subpoena is issued by UI Appeals located in Denver. You or your representative must make arrangements to obtain the subpoena when it is ready and to serve the subpoena (make sure it gets to the person specified on the subpoena). Serving the subpoena is your responsibility; UI Appeals does not serve the subpoena. Subpoenas must be served no less than 48 hours before the hearing. If served less than 48 hours before the hearing, the subpoena is not enforceable.

Witnesses, whether subpoenaed or not, are not entitled to any form of payment or compensation (i. e., a witness fee) for attending an appeal hearing. Persons failing to comply with properly served subpoenas may be subject to prosecution for a misdemeanor offense.

If Your Request for a Subpoena Is Denied

If your request for a subpoena is denied, you may state your objection at the hearing. If the hearing officer also denies your request, the hearing proceeds; if he or she grants your request, the hearing is continued (rescheduled) to a future date.

Subpoena Documents or Persons That Will Assist Your Case

The hearing is your only opportunity to present documents or testimony that assist your case. You have no obligation to produce a person who might weaken your case.

Colorado unemployment benefits provide temporary compensation to those workers meeting the eligibility requirements of Colorado law. The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment and each other state's unemployment office administers its own unemployment insurance program within Federal guidelines.

The value of unemployment benefits in Colorado differs from that of other states because each state unemployment office applies its own formulas and limits when calculating the level of unemployment compensation.

The duration of unemployment benefits in Colorado may also differ from that of other states.