HARRISBURG, Pa., April 19, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- The Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry praised the state Supreme Court for overturning a lower court ruling requiring employers to be represented by attorneys at unemployment compensation appeals hearings.
Brian Kelly, PA Chamber director of government affairs, said the ruling is a victory for Pennsylvania's small businesses, which faced increased cost burdens as a result of the change in the way informal UC proceedings were traditionally handled.
Pennsylvania's UC statute expressly allowed non-attorney representation for claimants, but was silent with respect to employers. However, the practice of employers using third-party administrators or other non-attorneys had been permitted prior to the February 2005 Commonwealth Court ruling.
"Employers and employees should be treated equally in unemployment compensation proceedings, and that means giving both the same rights to representation," Kelly said. "For a process that was designed to be informal, it is simply not necessary to force small employers -- who already face significant cost pressures in running their business -- to hire an attorney for these types of proceedings."
Kelly said that had Commonwealth Court's decision been allowed to stand, employers in some areas also could have been faced with the lack of availability of attorneys with specific UC knowledge, increasing the potential for errors and the need for further appeals.
The PA Chamber was among a group of organizations that jointly filed an amicus brief with the state's high court outlining the negative implications of Commonwealth Court's decision.
"The Pennsylvania Chamber commends the Supreme Court for siding with small business and common sense in reversing the lower court's detrimental ruling," Kelly said.
The Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry is the state's largest broad-based business association, serving more than 24,000 members and customers statewide. More information is available on the Chamber's website at www.pachamber.org
The Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry logo is available at http://www.primenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=353