Section 502. Decision of Referee; Further Appeals and Reviews.--(a) Where an appeal from the determination or revised determination, as the case may be, of the department is taken, a referee shall, after affording the parties and the department reasonable opportunity for a fair hearing, affirm, modify, or reverse such findings of fact and the determination or revised determination, as the case may be, of the department as to him shall appear just and proper. The parties and their attorneys or other representatives of record and the department shall be duly notified of the time and place of a referee's hearing and of the referee's decision, and the reasons therefor, which shall be deemed the final decision of the board, unless an appeal is filed therefrom, no later than twenty-one days after the "Decision Date" provided on such decision or the board acts on its own motion, to review the decision of the referee. The testimony at any hearing before a referee shall be taken by a recording device and be preserved for a period of ninety days following expiration of the period for filing an appeal from the final decision rendered in the case. An unabridged transcript and audio recording of the testimony shall be made available, at cost if not used for unemployment compensation purposes or a subsequent appeal, to the parties and their attorneys or other representatives upon written request to the referee.
(b) A decision under subsection (a) shall be mailed to each relevant party's last known post office address or transmitted electronically, as designated by the party.
(502 amended June 30, 2021, P.L.173, No.30)
Compiler's Note: See section 5 of Act 30 of 2021 in the appendix of this act for special provisions relating to applicability. Section 6 of Act 30 of 2021 provided that the Secretary of Labor and Industry shall transmit notice to the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin upon completion of modifications to the delivery system for unemployment compensation benefits implementing the amendment of sections 206(a), 401(a)(2), 404(e)(2)(i)(B)(I) and (IV)(a) and (C), 501(c)(4) and (5) and (e), 502 and 1307(a). The notice was published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on July 24, 2021, at 51 Pa.B. 4033.