Victor Forberger is a labor and employment attorney living in Wisconsin.
Before moving to Wisconsin, Victor worked in Massachusetts for a year and a half as an administrative law judge for unemployment appeals and then for four years as a hearing officer for the Massachusetts labor commission.
At present, he has a small solo practice and volunteers in numerous ways, including serving as a supervising attorney for the Unemployment Compensation Appeals Clinic in Madison, Wisconsin.
Any writings on this blog are his own and should not be considered as an official statement or representative of the unemployment clinic.
If you live in Dane County and need help on an unemployment matter, call the United Way help line at 211 and explain that you have an unemployment issue. The United Way will then schedule you for an appointment at the next available meeting of the unemployment clinic (Monday nights, 7-9pm, at the Labor Temple in Madison).
Wisconsin Unemployment 
I am on SSDI and i work part time . I lost my job early March when i had the covid virus .After i came out of quarantine , the state was on lockdown and i and my fellow co workers were laid off. I was denied unemployment due to my SSDI ($ 579 per month ).I applied for PUA and i have been ignored since i applied. Anything i can do about this? Thank you.
Contact me about filing an appeal on your behalf.
I am helping my fiance with her unemployment appeal she recieves ssdi and ssi and has been getting benefits for years and she is allow to work while getting benefits and reports. Her orders for benetfits are not to replace job wages but to assist her as the courts felt it is needed as they believe she can not hold a job with resasonable pay. Her benefit do not go up because she isn’t working and she only get percent of benefit amount because she works. She is being denided unemployement as is loosing wages. I have been doing lots of research to as she is intitle unemployment and the Wisconsin unemployement agent did tell us she is entitle by federal law to recieve both which this is law appeals have to follow but Wisconsin isn’t following and fighting but I am getting comfused as I read a dwd article and it says all states have to follow the same federal laws for unemployement and what is going on only 4 states are listed for laws that ssdi can affect unemployment and Wisconsin isn’t one of them one of them while they are trying to coat tail these laws. So I am hoping maybe you or someone could provided me with alittle more guidance and information of how to go into this appeal hearing. Also I am being thrown off on PUA now should I ask about this in the appeal or is it something she needs to apply for just how does it work it has been just a ton of work to file and claim then even get this appeal hearing been dealing with everything for months and everything coming last minute but I am trying my best to help so any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/press-releases/disabled-wisconsinites-eligible-for-pandemic-unemployment-assistance
Hey I started filing unemployment in March when COVID began. Around June 16th I got my first check and the website as well as a letter stated that I was approved for unemployment and PUA as well. After this first check came out my filing went back to ‘For the PUA someone has to manually put this into the system.’ Which I do not understand, obviously it was approved and I have a document showing it was approved but four months later I still have none of my money. I am owed about $6,500 but no one has any answers for me.
Hello Forberger, my situation is similar to Ms. Rubjerg. My PUA claim was approved on 9/1, for 39 weeks. I applied for benefits when the Governor ordered schools closed last spring (April 2020). I have the determination as well, however, when I call the agency nobody acknowledges it and would rather talk about any/everything but the determination. I’m owed 39 weeks of PUA, 11 weeks of the CARES ACT $600/wk and 6 six wks ot LOST WAGES @$300/wk., in addition to the regular $163/wk for the 39 weeks.
See delays part 3 post about next steps.
I had my PUA benefits terminated last November. According to them I am no unemployed as the result of the pandemic. This is not at all the case. The answers I gave why I am unemployed as the result of the pandemic were the same as I gave on my PUA application ( which I was approved for in August). I am currently appealing the termination. Now unimaginable has happened! After I had my PUA benefits terminated and denied ONE week of PUA benefits(the final week a I filed for PUA benefits last November),I still had over 30 weeks of PUA claims pending. Now ALMOST ALL of those pending weeks have DISAPPEARED from my unemployment account. They are not reflected in my claims filing history what so ever. There are no determinations for those weeks showing on the site, and I did not receive any notices about those weeks in the mail. They VANISHED INTO THIN AIR. It looks like I never even filed for them!
Atty Forberger: just caught your interview on the WI Bar Inside Track and want to thank you for all your efforts on behalf of the many attempting to navigate the absurd internet maze created by the unemployment Dept. I’m a retired sole practitioner (MULS 82) who handled SPD work for many years w a brother who i cavalierly nagged to “just apply” for unemployment. I better understand the trials he faces now. Is the 12 page outline available here that you mention in the interview. I’d like to educate myself. Although I’m temporarily out of State, I would consider volunteering through the State Bar volunteer program. What a mess.
Hang in there. You are doing valuable work for those in need.
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I receive SSDI and I was just fired from my job for reasons unrelated to misconduct or substantial fault. Why is the case against the law banning SSDI recipients from receiving UI taking so long?
Unfortunately, courts generally move very slowly.