OVERPAYMENT OF UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS
Willful Misconduct & Unemployment AppealsWrongfully Terminated ? Free Case EvaluationEMERGENCY UNEMPLOYMENT NOTICE
 Unemployment Department Aggressively Pursuing Claimants For
OVERPAYMENT OF UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS
MKO: âDedicated Unemployment Overpayment Appeal Lawyersâ
The Pennsylvania Unemployment Department has been sending employers various unsolicited notices requesting that they report former employees to places such as RefusalofWork@pa.gov. Pennsylvania is directly reaching out to employers to try and âclaw backâ money that has been sent out to former employees. This encourages employers with a strong financial incentive to report, often erroneous or exaggerated situations. Did this or could this have happened to you? (If so, Call Us ASAP). Don’t get railroaded by an overzealous Unemployment Department, you need to fight back!
Employers need only send basic information to trigger a devastating unemployment determination which often results in a random email or letter showing up, often over a year later, claiming an Unemployment Overpayment and that you may owe all of the money back! The Unemployment Department suggests employers report people on the following basis:
- An employer offers work to an individual who is NOT already employed by the employer, and the individual refuses the offer
- An employee refuses a recall to work after an indefinite lay-off from the employer
- An individual discourages being hired, during the interview process
- PA CareerLinkÂŽ refers an individual to an employer and the individual refuses or fails to report for the interview
- Call-offs/Absent Hours/PTO/Limited Availability
- No-show for shifts
- Voluntary quits or discharges
- Declined assignments if the individual is still considered employed by the agency
- Reasonable assurance for School Claims
- Any other potential issues involving a current employee or an individual considered, by the employer, to still be employed
Remember, even if they arenât requesting the entire amount, there is nothing precluding them doing so in the future if they so choose. If you do not make an unemployment overpayment appeal, you are *forever* agreeing to that potentially criminal determination â to which they can later issue another even worse determination in the future and you can not go back and litigate the prior letter.
MKO Believes You Should Appeal The Vast Majority Of Overpayment Determinations
It is MKOâs formal opinion that the vast and overwhelming majority of these conclusions by the department can be entirely won and put to rest forever IF you have a highly experienced employment litigator and unemployment lawyer (we absolutely do not recommend going without legal counsel). Unrepresented Claimants often get overwhelmed and steamrolled because they:
- Donât know the legal rules of the road;
- Donât realize the procedural flow of the hearing;
- Donât appreciate how to present a case properly;
- Donât properly get admitted statements, documents, text messages, emails, witnesses, testimony, and other evidence;
- Donât fully grasp how winning a case is like walking a tightrope and how devastating a single misspeak can be;
- Are regularly bamboozled by aggressive Referees; and
- Are surprised that everything is under oath and recorded, making UCBR appeals more difficult and could even be used in future litigation.
When you make this appeal, it triggers a procedural (not substantive) process where they automatically schedule your hearing. PRACTICE NOTE: Do not include your statement and evidence as it is often used against you at the hearing and is not even considered by the Department prior.
Judge, Jury & Executioner
In the post-COVID world, the Unemployment Department has empowered Referees to protect the interests of the State. That means the Referees, who we call judges to our clients to reinforce that this is a full legal hearing under oath and in front a broad discretion decision maker will take place, will question you
Donât be a victim. You are not helpless. MKO wins extremely difficult cases all the time, donât lose hope.
Call or chat us today.
đ˛412-301-2700
âProviding you a path forward in your life, career, and recovering the compensation you deserve.â˘âÂ
MKO is a âboutique firmâ which means that we focus on a niche area and offer highly specialized services to clients who are looking for the personal touch within our area of expertise: Employment Law. Boutique law firms are not a general practice or one-stop legal shop, and thatâs a good thing. You need one good attorney who knows the ins and outs of the area of law thatâs relevant to your case. Look for a law firm that primarily practices the area of law that you need. If thatâs all they do, chances are, they do it very well. We see each legal dispute as an opportunity to find a fair and equitable resolution without destroying your reputation, resume, job prospects, income, and if avoidable, not subjecting you, your family, friends, and former coworkers to unnecessary, highly invasive, time consuming, stressful, and ultimately public litigation. MKO, âProviding you a path forward in your life, career, and recovering the compensation you deserve.â˘â Confidentiality is key, for everyone. Are you a victim? MKO’s employment lawyers are always available for the clients. You can contact us anytime for a case assessment and evaluation.Â
Ten Reasons You Want MKO As Your Employment Counsel
1. Focused Employment Law Practice
MKO is a âboutique law firmâ which means that we concentrate on this niche area and offer highly focused employment law services to clients who are looking for the personal touch. Boutique law firms are not a one-stop legal shop, and thatâs a good thing. While a long roster of diverse legal services may look impressive on paper, itâs fairly pointless in practice. You need one good attorney who knows the ins and outs of the area of law thatâs relevant to your case.  Look for a law firm that only practices in the area of law that you need. If thatâs all they do, chances are, they do it very well.
2. Technology Driven & Experts in the Cloud
We provide immediate legal consultations, operate a paperless law firm, use advanced cloud storage, digital signatures, electronic forms, and can review your documents using screen share technology instantaneously. MKO is technologically savvy, nimble, flexible, and efficient.Â
We are not confined to our office, chained to a desktop computer, or burdened with IT maintenance. Thanks to the smart use of technology we can focus on providing our clients with the best representation possible. By streamlining our practice we can focus on what our clients hire us to do â advocate on their behalf and work diligently toward a desired result.
3. Legal Advice Instantly From The Comfort of Home
MKO can provide superior legal services through adaptive use of new technology and provide the majority of legal assistance while you are comfortably working from your home. It just also happens it's better, easier, and faster for our clients - they really appreciate it. We seamlessly and interactively collaborate with you in a relaxed environment where you have all of your files in your immediate control. We find this is the absolute best way to provide legal advice to our clients on complex legal issues, hands down.
The old style of coming into our office with binders of disjointed and unsearchable paperwork, of which we to organize and figure out on the fly, is incredibly wasteful, time-consuming, inefficient, and not highly productive. Because of our integration with technology, we are ready to work with you on highly intricate matters on a moments notice, no matter where you (or we) are.
4. Discreet When Necessary
While many cases require that we go to court to seek justice, there are a substantial number of disputes that need to be handled discreetly. We see each legal dispute as an opportunity to find a fair and equitable resolution without destroying your reputation, resume, job prospects, income, and if avoidable, not subjecting you, your family, friends, and former coworkers to unnecessary, highly invasive, time consuming, stressful, and ultimately public litigation. MKO, âProviding you a path forward in your life, career, and recovering the compensation you deserve.â˘â
Confidentiality is key, for everyone.Â
5. Experience, Professional, & Integrity
Through representing and managing thousands of employment situations, rest assured there is help or a path forward for your situation. For example, Partner Christi Wallace has personally represented over 1000 clients and has managed hundreds more for associates that worked for her in just her first 10 years!
6. Highly Responsive Attorneys
We always get the question, "If I choose to have you represent me, will it be difficult for me to get in touch with you?"
Absolutely not, we even make ourselves available to clients beyond our normal business hours! Further, when you call us your attorney answers, not a secretary who puts you on hold for 20 minutes, then tells you that you can leave a voicemail for your attorney. Besides the MKO office phone number, our clients can contact their attorney via mobile, SMS & texting, business email, and an urgent emergency email. For example, we can often respond to a text message in just a few minutes. Experience a better, faster, and more efficient way to work with an attorney. MKO believes that clients can and should depend on the fact that weâll respond quickly.
7. Attorneys Available 74+ Hours Per Week
Employment Attorneys are available at least 74 hours per week by phone, email, and text messaging. Don't be fooled by marketing, many law firms are using non-attorney 3rd party answering services and advertising "Phones Answered 24 Hours A Day, 7 Days A Week." We pick up our own phones, respond to our own emails and text messages, and use real attorneys, 74+ hours per week.Â
M-F 7am-7pm
Sat/Sun 8am-3pm
8. Practical Advice From Seasoned Professionals
MKO strongly believes that every situation is distinctly unique and therefore we must endeavor to find the right solution for that particular issue. Because we are a boutique employment law firm, we strive to find unique and innovation solutions for our clients in every circumstance. We take action when necessary, put together deals when possible, and work with our clients so we can be creative and find smart solutions instead of needless litigation. We want to protect your interests now and in the future.
9. Contingency Representation
Contingency Legal Representation is where you do not have to pay your lawyer up front. This is fantastic if you are offered this option. Lawyers and litigation costs are incredibly expensive if you pay hourly. With contingency representation, you are not faced with large legal bills and expenses that are daunting and causes slow downs while waiting for a retainer to be replenished. Further, when you're offering to pay anyone up front and hourly, it seems they'll take almost any case - so long as they are getting paid. Funny how that works. Here's how we help:
- People can afford an attorney. â Without the benefit of contingency, it would be very difficult for a person who was recently separated from their job to afford an employment lawyer.
- MKO only gets paid if there is a recovery. â We put our money where our mouth is, if we don't get a recovery, you don't owe legal fees and costs.
- Contingency representation says something about your case. â Considering MKO only will get paid if there is a recovery, you can assume we like to cases that we believe have merit.
- Helps people can move on with their lives â Instead of racking up debt to pay for legal help, our contingency representation lets you move on with your life as we deal with the legal stuff. This is exactly what MKO stands for, âProviding you a path forward in your life, career, and recovering the compensation you deserve.â˘"
10. Keeping Costs Low To Focus On Your Case
Our clients understand that their representation is are far more important than an expensive address. Some law firms might be battling an extremely burdensome and large cost overhead. In other words, to survive, they may need to be a "factory firm" or "volume practice" that needs to process a vast amount of cases to be able to afford their superfluous costs, expenses, and overhead. We aggressively keep costs down so we can focus on you.
Don't want to be treated like an account number, a settlement figure, or a wheel that needs to be turned to keep the law firm getting paid? We keep our costs low and use this financial freedom for our clients best interests.
Legal Consultations
Hours Open Every Week
Clients & Cases Managed
Wrongful Termination & Discrimination Questions
To Ask During Your Free Lawyer Consultation
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=What does an employment discrimination, wrongful termination lawyer do?
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=Do I need an employment lawyer, what options do I have?
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=Can a employment attorney really help my case, even if I still work there?
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=When should I hire an employment law firm?Â
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=Is discrimination, illegal conduct, and severance negotiations that common?
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=How do you retain an employment attorney and is it really this easy?Â
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=How do I know when I need an employment lawyer?
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=When should I address discrimination at the office?
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=What is my case worth?Â
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=Do I have a retaliation, wrongful termination, or discrimination case?
I trusted Mr. Kraemer with a rather difficult period of time for my family, and we came out on top. He is trustworthy and honest, incredibly helpful, and understanding. Five stars aren’t enough! Him and his staff are well experienced, and won’t let up until the truth is known and justice is served. Michael, it’s been a pleasure. I hope I never need your services again! If I do, I will not hesitate to give you a call.
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Halfway to wrongful termination help. If you don't get paid, neither do we. All you need to do is call MKO!
Employment Law Readyâ â˘
Michael Kraemer was the only lawyer who took my case and would be the only lawyer Iâd rely on. He kept me informed and was very intellectual on the whole subject that my case was revolved around. I give Mr. Kraemer a 10 out of 10 and I would refer him and his associates to anyone who wants a well defined lawyer.
Wrongful Termination
We help people fired, or soon to be fired, when they have been treated unfairly, illegally, or unjustly.
Employment Discrimination
Race, religion, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), orientation, disability.
Professional Exit Strategies
Remove yourself from a toxic workplace or help with a job loss. Lawyers give you an exit strategy.
Medical Accommodations
Employees needing physical or mental health/wellness accommodations are protected.
Disability Discrimination
Many health conditions can be considered disabilities and are legally protected including retaliation. Â
EEOC or PHRC Agencies
Aggressive lawyering in the state and federal agencies can mean quick, quiet, and lucrative resolutions.
Age Discrimination
For those over 40 years old (but older is preferred) that experience bias based on your age.
Sexual Harassment
A range of actions from mild transgressions to sexual abuse or sexual assault. A highly serious offense.