The opinion
Cite as 2021 Ark. App. 434
Elizabeth Perry
I attest to the accuracy and
ARKANSAS COURT OF APPEALS
integrity of this document
2023.07.14 11:30:18 -05'00' DIVISION II
2023.003.20244 No. E-21-108
Opinion Delivered November 10, 2021
JENNIFER HERNANDEZ APPEAL FROM THE ARKANSAS
APPELLANT BOARD OF REVIEW
V. [NO. 2021-BR-00132]
DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF
WORKFORCE SERVICES REMANDED TO SETTLE AND
APPELLEE SUPPLEMENT THE RECORD
BART F. VIRDEN, Judge
Appellant, Jennifer Hernandez, appeals an adverse ruling of the Board of Review
(Board) affirming the Appeal Tribunal’s (Tribunal’s) dismissal of her unemployment claim
as untimely. Because our record does not contain a transcript of the December 3, 2020
hearing conducted by the Appeal Tribunal on the timeliness issue, we remand to the Board
to settle and supplement the record to include the transcript of that hearing.
On July 22, 2020, the Division of Workforce Services issued a “Notice of Agency
Determination” disqualifying Hernandez from receiving unemployment benefits.
Hernandez filed an untimely appeal of the determination to the Appeal Tribunal. On
December 3, 2020, the Tribunal conducted a hearing pursuant to Paulino v. Daniels, 269
Ark. 676, 559 S.W.2d 760 (Ark. App. 1980) to determine whether the untimely filing of
the appeal was due to circumstances outside Hernandez’s control. The Tribunal found that
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the untimely filing was not a result of circumstances beyond her control, and it dismissed
her appeal in a decision with a mailing date of December 4, 2020.
Hernandez then filed an untimely appeal to the Board. The Board held a Paulino
hearing on February 1, 2021, to determine the circumstances of this late appeal. Ultimately,
the Board found that her untimely Board appeal was due to circumstances beyond her
control: the Tribunal decision had been mailed to Hernandez in English, but she required
a Spanish translator to understand and act on her right to appeal. The Board then reviewed
the Tribunal’s decision, including the testimony submitted at the Tribunal hearing, and it
affirmed the Tribunal’s dismissal of Hernandez’s claim for unemployment benefits.
Hernandez has now appealed from the Board’s decision denying her claim for
benefits on the basis that her appeal to the Tribunal was untimely. However, because our
record does not include a transcript of the December 3, 2020 Paulino hearing in which the
timeliness issue before the Tribunal was presented—and later considered by the Board in
reaching its decision to affirm—we cannot reach the merits of her claim at this time.
This case is therefore remanded to the Board to settle and supplement the record to
include the transcript of the December 3, 2020 hearing within thirty days.
Remanded to settle and supplement the record.
HARRISON, C.J., and GRUBER, J., agree.
Jennifer Hernandez, pro se appellant.
Cynthia L. Uhrynowycz, Associate General Counsel, for appellee.
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