October 25, 2005

CONTACT: Kevin McCormick 202-637-3465

WASHINGTON, D.C., October 25, 2005 – UWC – Strategic Services on Unemployment & Workers’ Compensation (UWC) announced today that it has submitted a friend of the court brief in Harkness v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review, urging the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to overturn a state trial court decision requiring employers, but not workers, to be represented by attorneys at unemployment hearings. The brief was jointly filed with the Society for Human Resource Management, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business & Industry, the National Federation of Independent Business, and the Association of Unemployment Tax Organizations, among others.

“We urge the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to reject any attempt to turn informal unemployment compensation proceedings into formal legal proceedings by requiring attorney representation,” said Eric Oxfeld, President of UWC.

The main proponents of mandatory attorney representation in unemployment proceedings are lawyers who would like to replace non-attorney representatives. The Pennsylvania unemployment program has recognized non-attorney representation since the inception of the program as the appropriate way to provide assistance to both workers and employers.

Lawyers argue that non-attorney representation at unemployment hearings constitutes the unauthorized practice of law. “But the business community is telling the lawyers, ‘don’t do us any favors,’” Oxfeld said. “The reality is that unemployment proceedings are not legal proceedings requiring the use of attorneys. An unemployment hearing is far more speedy and informal. There is no judge, no discovery, and no right to a jury, and the rules of evidence do not apply. As a practical matter, few lawyers have as much experience and expertise in unemployment hearings as the non-attorney representatives long active in the unemployment program. And the cost of legal representation may exceed the cost of the benefits at stake. Attorney representation will make it too expensive for employers to participate in unemployment proceedings, which, in turn, will increase the error rate, meaning more appeals, longer delays, more wasted money, and higher payroll taxes.”

“The Court certainly understands that if employers must use attorneys, the same rule must be applied to workers. That will inevitably force many workers to give up their rights to have their claims heard by the Department of Labor and Industry.”

“UWC believes as a basic matter of fairness, claimants and employers alike should be allowed to have the representation of their choice. Requiring either side to have a lawyer contributes nothing to the appeals process,” Oxfeld said.

-UWC-