IN THE COMMONWEALTH COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA

Shelly A. Franklin, :

Petitioner :

:

v. :

:

Unemployment Compensation :

Board of Review, : No. 556 C.D. 2016

Respondent : Submitted: August 19, 2016

BEFORE: HONORABLE RENÉE COHN JUBELIRER, Judge

HONORABLE ANNE E. COVEY, Judge

HONORABLE JOSEPH M. COSGROVE, Judge

OPINION NOT REPORTED

MEMORANDUM OPINION

BY JUDGE COSGROVE FILED: November 30, 2016

Shelly Franklin (Claimant) petitions for review from an order of the

Unemployment Compensation Board of Review (Board). The Board affirmed the

decision of the Referee that Claimant’s appeal was untimely under Section 502 of

the Unemployment Compensation Law (Law),1and, thus, was properly dismissed. 

Upon review, we affirm. 

Claimant filed for unemployment compensation benefits on October

25, 2015. On October 28, 2015, the Department of Labor and Industry

(Department) issued a determination denying Claimant benefits. Claimant

appealed, and, following a hearing, a Referee issued a determination affirming the

 

1 Act of December 5, 1936, Second Ex. Sess., P.L. (1937) 2897, as amended, 43 P.S. §

822. Section 502 of the Law provides that an appeal from a Referee’s determination must be 

filed within fifteen days of the determination.
2

Department’s denial of benefits. The Referee’s determination, mailed on

December 8, 2015, informed Claimant the last day to appeal the denial of benefits

was December 23, 2015. On January 8, 2016, Claimant filed an appeal with the

Board. On January 17, 2016, the Board mailed a notice to Claimant, explaining

that her appeal was untimely filed, and that she had until January 29, 2016 to

request a hearing in order to challenge the untimeliness determination. Claimant

did not request a hearing by the deadline, and the Board issued a final order

dismissing Claimant’s appeal as untimely. 

Claimant seeks this Court’s review,2arguing only that the Referee

erred in determining she was ineligible for unemployment benefits.3 

Section 502 of the Law provides that a Referee’s decision becomes

final unless an appeal is filed within fifteen days after the mailing of such

decision.4 This fifteen-day time limit is mandatory; if an appeal is not timely filed

within the specified time period, the determination becomes final, and the Board

does not have the requisite jurisdiction to consider the matter. Han v.

Unemployment Comp. Bd. of Review, 42 A.3d 1155, 1157 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2012). 

 

2 On appeal, this Court is limited to determining whether constitutional rights have been

violated, whether errors of law were committed, or whether the findings of fact are supported by

substantial evidence. Great Valley Publ’g v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review,

136 A.3d 532 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2016).

3

In her brief, Claimant stated the reason for her late appeal was that she went out of town 

to look for employment, and, although she forwarded her mail to her temporary residence, she 

did not receive the Referee’s and the Board’s letters until after the appeal deadlines. (Claimant’s 

Brief at 4-5.) However, Claimant does not request or argue the right to appeal nunc pro tunc.

4 Act of December 5, 1936, Second Ex. Sess., P.L. (1937) 2897, as amended, 43 P.S. § 

822.
3

Moreover, Section 101.61(a) of the Department’s regulations

provides:

(a) If an appeal from a decision of the Department or an application

for further appeal appears to have been filed beyond the applicable

time limit, the tribunal shall advise the appealing party in writing

that it appears not to have a [sic] jurisdiction because of the late

filing, and that the appeal or application for further appeal will be

dismissed without a hearing unless the appealing party notifies the

tribunal in writing within the succeeding 15 days from the date of

such notice, that he contends the appeal or application for further

appeal was timely filed and that he desires a hearing. If no reply

from the appealing party is received within the 15–day period, or if

the appealing party does not request a hearing, the tribunal shall

dismiss the appeal or application for further appeal. 

34 Pa.Code § 101.61(a).5

Here, Claimant failed to timely appeal the Referee’s determination,

never requested a hearing challenging the Board’s determination that her appeal

was untimely filed, and has not sought nunc pro tunc relief. The Referee’s

decision thus became the final determination of the Board, and Claimant’s appeal

was properly dismissed. Accordingly, we affirm the decision of the Board.

____________________________

JOSEPH M. COSGROVE, Judge

 

5

Section 101.2 of the regulations defines tribunal as “[t]he Board or one of its referees.” 

34 Pa.Code § 101.2.
IN THE COMMONWEALTH COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA

Shelly A. Franklin, :

Petitioner :

:

v. :

:

Unemployment Compensation :

Board of Review, : No. 556 C.D. 2016

Respondent :

O R D E R

AND NOW, this 30th day of November, 2016, the Order of the 

Unemployment Compensation Board of Review dated February 17, 2016, is 

hereby AFFIRMED.

___________________________

JOSEPH M. COSGROVE, Judge