IN RE: the Claim of Joseph SPELLEN (2024)

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

Appeal from a decision of the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board, filed September 5, 2023, which denied claimant's application for reopening and reconsideration of a prior decision.

By decision filed June 2, 2023, the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board affirmed a decision finding claimant ineligible to receive unemployment insurance benefits because he did not return a questionnaire sent by the Department of Labor seeking pertinent information regarding his receipt of disability benefits and thus did not comply with registration requirements.  By decision filed September 5, 2023, claimant's subsequent application for reopening and reconsideration, which was untimely and did not set forth an explanation for the delay, was denied.  Claimant again requested reopening and reconsideration, which the Board also denied.  Claimant appeals from the Board's September 2023 decision.¹

We affirm.  “A decision as to whether to grant an application to reopen a decision is within the sound discretion of the Board[,] and, absent a showing that it abused that discretion, its decision will not be disturbed” (Matter of Aiello [Commissioner of Labor], 227 A.D.3d 1256, 1257, 210 N.Y.S.3d 831 [3d Dept. 2024] [internal quotation marks and citations omitted]).  Claimant raises no arguments regarding the denial of the application to reopen and/or reconsider the Board's prior decision, and our review of the record does not disclose any basis to disturb the Board's denial of claimant's application in this regard (see Matter of Paka [Same Day Delivery Inc.-Commissioner of Labor], 213 A.D.3d 1050, 1051, 183 N.Y.S.3d 604 [3d Dept. 2023];  Matter of Shaw [Commissioner of Labor], 197 A.D.3d 1451, 1451, 151 N.Y.S.3d 911 [3d Dept. 2021]).  To the extent that he challenges the underlying merits of the Board's decision finding that he was ineligible to receive unemployment insurance benefits, such arguments are not properly before us (see Matter of Shaw [Commissioner of Labor], 197 A.D.3d at 1451–1452, 151 N.Y.S.3d 911).

ORDERED that the decision is affirmed, without costs.

FOOTNOTES

1.   Claimant's appeal from the Board's June 2023 decision was not perfected within six months from the filing of the notice of appeal, and, as such, the appeal was deemed dismissed by operation of law pursuant to 22 NYCRR 1250.10.

Garry, P.J., Clark, Pritzker, Fisher and Powers, JJ., concur.