Wisconsin Labor and Industry Review Commission --
Summary of Wisconsin Court Decision relating to Unemployment Insurance

Subject: Kevin H. Campbell v. LIRC and Skil Tech of Madison, Inc., Case No. 01-CV-3295 (Wis. Cir. Ct., Dane Co., August 7, 2002)

Digest Codes: PC 711

The claimant was the subject of several initial determinations all issued on the same day. They made findings of a quit, failure to report wages, and concealment. The last day for a timely appeal of all of them was 3/19/01. At about 6:00 p.m. on that date the claimant talked to a law student at the UI Appeals Clinic in Madison regarding his appeal. With the student's assistance he drafted an appeal letter and dropped it in a mailbox at approximately 8:00 p.m. that evening. It was not postmarked until the next day, and not received by the department until the day after that.

The appeal tribunal and the commission found that the appeal was not late for a reason beyond the claimant's control. The claimant asserted that the determinations were confusing so he needed assistance with an appeal, that the Clinic failed to warn him that the appeal had to be postmarked by 3/19/01, or faxed on that date, and that the Clinic's negligence in this regard should not be imputed to him.

Held: The commission's dismissal of the late appeal is affirmed. Each of the initial determinations contained clear warnings and instructions for filing a timely appeal. Instructions were also provided for contacting the department if the claimant had questions. The claimant waited until the day of the deadline to act, and when he mailed the appeal he knew it would be late. There was no evidence that the Clinic misled the claimant concerning the proper appeal procedure, and he was responsible for his own appeal.

Please note that this is a summary prepared by staff of the commission, not a verbatim reproduction of the court decision.

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