DEANNA STUART, APPELLANT,
v.
FLORIDA UNEMPLOYMENT APPEALS COMMISSION AND RENT WAY INCORPORATED, APPELLEES
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Deanna Stuart appealed an Unemployment Appeals Commission decision affirming a reversal of her unemployment benefits eligibility. The First District Court of Appeal reversed, holding that the employer's initial appeal to the appeals referee was untimely filed 22 days after the agency's determination, exceeding the 20-day statutory deadline, and therefore the appeals referee lacked jurisdiction.
The employer's appeal was untimely filed 22 days after the Agency's determination, exceeding the 20-day deadline established by Florida Statutes § 443.151(3)(a). Because this deadline is jurisdictional, the appeals referee lacked jurisdiction to hear the appeal, and the Agency's original determination awarding Stuart unemployment benefits was final.
[1] A twenty-day deadline for filing an appeal of an unemployment benefits determination is jurisdictional.
[2] An appeals referee lacks jurisdiction to hear an untimely appeal of an unemployment benefits determination.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The determination is final unless within 20 days after the mailing of the notices to the parties' last known addresses, or in lieu of mailing, within 20 days after the delivery of the notices, an appeal or written request for reconsideration is filed by the claimant or other party entitled to notice.”
Establishes the statutory 20-day deadline for appeals in unemployment benefits cases
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe Agency for Workforce Innovation determined that Stuart was entitled to unemployment benefits. The Employer (Rent Way Incorporated) appealed this d…
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PER CURIAM.
Deanna Stuart appeals the Order of the Unemployment Appeals Commission (“Commission”), which affirmed the appeals referee’s ruling. Stuart raises numerous issues on appeal, only one of which merits discussion. Stuart contends that Rent Way Incorporated’s (“Employer”), initial appeal to the appeals referee was untimely. We conclude that the record demonstrates that the Employer’s appeal was untimely and the appeals referee lacked jurisdiction to hear the appeal. Therefore, we reverse with instructions to the Commission to dismiss the Employer’s appeal.
Following the Agency for Workforce Innovation’s (“Agency”) determination that Stuart was entitled to unemployment benefits, the Employer appealed the Agency’s determination to an appeals referee. After the appeals referee reversed the Agency’s determination, Stuart appealed to the Commission. The Commission subsequently affirmed the appeals referee’s decision. This appeal followed. Stuart argues that the Employer’s appeal was untimely because it was filed more than twenty days after the mailing of the Agency’s determination to the parties.
Section 443.151(3)(a), Florida Statutes (2006), provides, “[t]he determination is final unless within 20 days after the mailing of the notices to the parties’ last known addresses, or in lieu of mailing, within 20 days after the delivery of the notices, an appeal or written request for reconsideration is filed by the claimant or other party entitled to notice.” This twenty-day deadline is jurisdictional, and the appeals referee does not have jurisdiction to hear an untimely appeal. See Thurman v. Fla. Unemployment Appeals Comm’n., 881 So. 2d 89, 90 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004). The rules place an affirmative duty on the appeals referee to determine the timeliness of the appeal sua sponte. See Fla. Admin Code R. 60BB-5.007(l)-(2)(2006).
The appeals referee failed to include any factual findings concerning the timeliness of the Employer’s appeal, however, the record clearly demonstrates that the Employer filed an untimely appeal 22 days after the Agency issued their determination. The appeals referee was therefore without jurisdiction to hear the Employer’s appeal and the Agency’s determination was final.
Accordingly, we reverse with instructions for the Commission to dismiss the Employer’s appeal as untimely.
REVERSED and REMANDED with instructions.
BROWNING, C.J., BENTON and LEWIS, JJ., concur.
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Ouafae E. Peterson v. Fla. Unemployment Appeals Comm'n & The Hertz Corp., 77 So. 3d 905 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012)…novation or Office of Appeals employee shall record the date of receipt on the appeal document. The late filing of an appeal deprives the referee of jurisdiction to consider the merits of the underlying claim. Stuart v. Fla. Unemp’t Appeals Comm’n, 961 So. 2d 1020, 1021 (Fla. 1st DCA 2007). A determination of timeliness of an appeal is an issue of fact. Mendelsohn v. Fla. Unemp’t Appeals Comm’n, 851 So. 2d 208, 209 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003). Thus, “[t]he rules place an affirmative duty on the appeals referee to [ma…
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Fallgatter Farmand & Catlin, P.A. v. Fla. Unemployment Appeals Comm'n & Jenilynn S. Hidalgo, 984 So. 2d 1289 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008)…PER CURIAM. AFFIRMED. See Stuart v. Fla. Unemploy. Appeals Comm’n, 961 So. 2d 1020 (Fla. 1st DCA 2007). BARFIELD, KAHN, and BENTON, JJ., concur.…
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Cyr v. Reemployment Assistance Appeals Comm'n (Fla. 1st DCA 2024)…firm the order of the Reemployment Assistance Appeals Commission dismissing Appellant’s administrative appeal as untimely. See § 443.151(4)(b)1., Fla. Stat. (2022) (allowing twenty days for filing appeal); Stuart v. Fla. Unemployment Appeals Comm’n, 961 So. 2d 1020, 1021 (Fla. 1st DCA 2007) (“[T]he appeals referee does not have jurisdiction to hear an untimely appeal.”); see also Fla. Admin. Code 73B-20.007(2) (“If the referee finds that the appeal was not filed within the time allowed by law, it shall be dism…
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- Thurman v. Fla. Unemployment Appeals Comm'n, 881 So. 2d 89 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004)