Nothing on this page is advice about your job, and no article can be. If you want your own facts looked at, a Minnesota employment attorney can do that — and several of the deadlines described on this site are short enough that waiting is itself a decision.
Also called: ULJ; unemployment judge.
Only employees of the department who are attorneys licensed to practice law in Minnesota may serve as the chief unemployment law judge, senior unemployment law judges who are supervisors, or unemployment law judges.
Minn. Stat. § 268.105, subd. 1b(a). The hearing under subdivision 1(a) is “de novo,” so the determination being appealed carries no weight going in. Under subdivision 1a(a) the judge writes findings of fact and, where credibility “has a significant effect on the outcome,” must “set out the reason for crediting or discrediting that testimony.” Two limits worth knowing: under subdivision 1a(b) an appealing party who does not participate can have the appeal dismissed by summary decision, and under subdivision 1a(d) “[d]ecisions of an unemployment law judge are not precedential.” Chapter 268 does not define “unemployment law judge.” Section 268.035’s definitions do not include the term, and § 268.105, subdivision 1b, states only who may serve as one.
Where this comes up
- Minnesota Unemployment: Being Fired Does Not Disqualify You, and the First Hearing Is the Only One You Get
- Quitting Does Not End Your Unemployment Claim in Minnesota — the Legislature Wrote Ten Exceptions Into the Same Sentence That Creates the Disqualification
- Every Minnesota Employment Deadline in One Table — and Not One of Them Is the Same Number
Sources checked September 8, 2026. Citations independently verified against the primary source September 8, 2026.