Protests:
Employers and Claimants can file a protest regarding a variety of correspondence/information they receive regarding Unemployment Insurance or Benefits. Here, we will be covering the processes related to this as they apply specifically to the SUITS system. The majority of Protests are processed and handled through the SCUBI system (including all protests related to claimants). However, the following list shows what is handled within SUITS:
•File an initial employer protest
•Review the initial protest and make a determination
•Review the determination and approve/deny it
•Determination correspondence is generated and sent to appropriate parties as part of this
•Withdraw an initial protest
•Update a protest as it goes through different levels outside of the SUITS system
Within the employer portal, documents which are eligible for a protest will allow employers to submit said protest to SCDEW. The window of time in which employers can do this is based on the correspondence type/name. To see the full list of correspondence eligibility and duration of the window in which they can file a protest, please see the appendix at the end of this handbook.
During the initial protest process, employers enter in a variety of information including the reasoning for the protest, any applicable supporting documentation, who the point of contact or representative is for this protest (if applicable), and any other relevant information. For internal users there is not a specific window of time for protests, and the capability will always be available to them.
Once the initial protest is submitted, the workflow process “Review Employer Protest” is initiated for DEW staff to review and process. This workflow displays all information the employer entered, as well as the supporting documentation that was uploaded by the employer. It is during this process that a determination/rationale will be selected. For each correspondence that can be protested, there are determination/rationale options specific to them.
Once the determination has been selected, SUITS will pull the response correspondence to be sent to the employer, but it is not sent at that point. Once staff has completed this workflow, another workflow is triggered called “Review Protest Determination”, which will be completed by a different DEW staff member.
This workflow process will have DEW staff review the determination, as well as the determination letter that was generated based on the ‘Review Employer Protest’ process. When approved, SUITS will send out that correspondence to the employer and update the protest record with this outcome. In the event this workflow leads to a denial, SUITS will create a new ‘Review Employer Protest’ workflow to essentially restart the review process of the protest filed.
During the above described processes, the protest will have a status of ‘Pending’, which allows for the employer to withdraw the protest if needed. When a protest is withdrawn, it will be reflected in the SUITS system on the protest record and no further actions can be taken regarding the protest.
When DEW completes the initial protest process and the determination letter is sent to the employer, there will be the possibility for the employer to protest that determination. This escalates the process to the next level of protest, and is handled outside of SUITS. However, as protests go through different potential levels, DEW staff will need to update the protest record within SUITS manually. SCUBI and SUITS do not communicate information regarding protests to each other.
Please see the Appendix for a grid of information regarding the correspondence that can be protested, how long of a window the employer has to protest it, and the determinations/rationales available for each correspondence.