New Evidence Process Available for Unemployment Benefits Hearings

Employers may now have an easier means to defend unemployment benefits claims and prove an employee’s reason for termination. The Tennessee Legislature has recently amended the evidentiary rules for unemployment benefits hearings. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-7-304(f), employers can present personnel records and other business records as proof of an employee’s misconduct, even though such records may be hearsay or may not be corroborated by direct witness testimony. To use such records as evidence, 3 conditions must be met:

• The employer must be in possession of the records;
• The records must be relevant to the claim; and
• The records must be accompanied by an affidavit of the records custodian or other qualified person certifying the evidence as a business record.
• These conditions should be easy to meet for prudent employers who properly document and retain employment and personnel records.

This amendment benefits employers, as they previously had to provide first-hand knowledge to prove the basis for the employee’s termination (e.g., misconduct) in defending an unemployment claim.

The amendment also gives uniformity and certainty to unemployment hearings procedures. In the past, hearings across the state may have differed in the way the Tennessee Rules of Evidence were applied to allow or exclude hearsay testimony. Consequently, human resource officers might not be allowed to testify about the basis of the employee’s termination if those officers did not determine or administer the discipline first-hand. The new amendment clarifies how personnel and business records are admissible, regardless whether such records are hearsay or corroborated by direct witness testimony.

As well, the amendment eases the employer’s burden in defending unemployment claims. Previously, an employer may have had to present testimony from multiple employees to prove the employee was terminated for misconduct. These other employees may not have been willing or eager to testify. They may no longer be employed or under the employer’s control. They may also have claims or disputes against the employer themselves, posing a risk of potentially harmful testimony for the employer. Now, the employer may submit business records to show the claimant employee’s misconduct. Of course, determining the pros and cons for evidence and witness testimony will still be needed in each case. However, the employer now has another option to defend claims through business records, aside from relying solely on other employees’ testimony.

For additional information on this Employment article, please contact:

Casey Smith

(731) 426-8122

csmith@raineykizer.com

Source: Rainey, Kizer, Reviere & Bell, P.L.C.

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