How do you appeal a Louisiana Works determination?

A determination is the letter that carries a decision on your claim. Your time to challenge one runs from the date it was mailed to your last known address, which is why the address Louisiana Works holds for you matters.

The 15 days, and how to count them

You have 15 days to appeal any appealable determination you disagree with. Weekends, legal holidays, and office closures are left out of the count, so the last day lands further out than 15 calendar days. Your appeal has to be received or postmarked by the 15th day. Miss that deadline and you may lose your right to appeal.

Appealing one determination does not appeal them all. If more than one has gone against you, each determination you disagree with has to be appealed separately.

If your monetary determination is missing wages or has the figures wrong, you can ask for a redetermination of it. How much Louisiana unemployment pays covers that.

How to file the appeal

Online is the fastest route: file it through HiRE. Otherwise, fill in the "I Appeal" section printed on the determination itself and send it back one of these ways:

• Email it to ClerkAppeal@la.gov
• Fax it to 225-346-6077
• Mail it to Louisiana Works, Attn: Appeals Tribunal, P.O. Box 94094, Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9094

Louisiana Works mails a letter acknowledging the appeal. If 10 days go by without one, call the Appeals Clerk of Court at 1-800-256-8023 and ask what happened to it.

What happens at the hearing

An Administrative Law Judge looks at your case and schedules a hearing, usually about 3 to 4 weeks after the date you filed. The notice telling you to appear has to be mailed at least 7 days before that date.

Most hearings are held by telephone. The judge calls the number Louisiana Works has on record for you, and the hearing notice prints that number. If it is wrong, or you will be on a different phone that day, send the number that will reach you to the Appeals Clerk of Court at least 1 business day before the hearing, or call 1-800-256-8023 with it. That call is the hearing, so the number on the notice has to be one you will answer.

You can speak, offer documents, and bring witnesses. A witness who will not come on their own has to be subpoenaed, and so does a document somebody else holds: send the judge a written request giving the witness's name and home address and stating specifically what the testimony or the documents will prove, and make sure it arrives at least 3 business days before the hearing. The same 3-business-day notice applies if you want copies of the documents Louisiana Works used to decide your claim, which you are entitled to ask for.

You may have a lawyer help you, though you do not have to have one. Louisiana Works also lists free legal aid programs for low-income people who qualify, among them Acadiana Legal Services Corporation and Southeast Louisiana Legal Services, set out by parish.

The written decision is usually mailed out within 3 days of the hearing.

If the decision still goes against you

The judge's decision can be appealed to the Louisiana Board of Review, following the instructions printed on the decision, within 15 days of its mailing date. A Board of Review decision can then be appealed in the state district courts, again within 15 days of the mailing date.

Overpayments and how to repay them

An overpayment is unemployment money you were paid but were not eligible for, and you have to pay it back. Paying online is the fastest and preferred route: the overpayments portal asks for your name and the HiRE User ID printed on your overpayment notice, and it takes a credit card, a debit card, or ACH. Transaction fees apply.

By mail, send a check or money order to Louisiana Works, Benefit Payment Control, P.O. Box 44063, Baton Rouge, LA 70804-4063.

If you cannot clear the balance in one go, ask for a repayment agreement. Louisiana Works puts the online request first and marks it the fastest and preferred option: sign in to HiRE, open the Overpayments tab, scroll down to the Collection Summary section, and click the blue "Request Repayment Plan" link. The same request goes by phone to 1-866-783-5567, Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., where you ask for an overpayment specialist.

Louisiana Works can collect an overpayment by taking your federal or state tax refund.

What counts as fraud, and what it costs

Fraud is knowingly giving false information or leaving out important details. Louisiana Works gives these examples, and says they are not the only ones:

• Not reporting that you are working until after your first paycheck
• Not reporting all your wages
• Saying you are available for work while in the hospital or in jail
• Not telling Louisiana Works about a job separation that could disqualify you

Which set of consequences applies depends on the date Louisiana Works issued the fraud determination, not on when the fraud happened. A determination issued on or after December 31, 2024 disqualifies you from the first week the fraud was committed through the remainder of the claim, and any weeks paid inside that period become overpaid. A determination issued under the older rules carried an extra 52-week disqualification on top of that.

The cash penalty is where Louisiana Works' own pages disagree, and neither of them withdraws the other. Its claimant handbook, revised in August 2026, puts the penalty at 50% of the overpayment. Its claimant FAQ, last updated on March 18, 2026, puts it at $20 or 25% of the total overpayment, whichever is greater. Nothing on either page settles which one is charged now, so ask Louisiana Works which penalty your own determination carries rather than budgeting for the smaller one.

The statute then keeps that disqualification running until the benefits and any penalty are repaid, or until 10 years have passed from the date of disqualification.

An overpayment of $1,000 or more can bring criminal charges. As further penalties for fraud, Louisiana Works can suspend hunting or fishing licenses and place a lien on property.