By Payroll and Entitlements Editorial Staff
The claimant tried to file for unemployment benefits over the telephone but kept getting a busy signal. However, after she attempted to file online several times she thought that her claim had been successfully submitted. After a couple of weeks, when she did not receive benefits, the claimant learned that the Board had found her to be ineligible because she did not file within the prescribed time. On appeal, the court reversed the Board, finding that the claimant’s inability to file was through no fault of her own and was not due to neglect, oversight, or a misunderstanding of the law. Instead, her failure to timely file resulted from technical difficulties outside of her control (Michelle Keeler v. Bd. of Rev. and Maschio’s Food Service, N.J. Super. Ct., App. Div. (Unpub. Op.), No. A-3382-18T3, April 14, 2020).