TL7x's journey

I was out on workers' comp for a year due to an injury and recently returned to work, only to be fired shortly after. I applied for unemployment benefits but was denied because I didn't have enough income during the relevant period. I just received a letter stating that they reviewed my wages from the past year and found that I had none, which I expected since I was out for so long. I'm confused about the rules regarding workers' comp and unemployment in New Jersey. I thought there was a special rule that would allow them to consider a different year for my benefits since I had 0 income while on workers' comp. I appealed the decision and I'm trying to understand what happens next. Will they apply that special rule during the appeal, or was that supposed to be addressed in my initial application? I noticed they made a decision very quickly; I applied on August 2nd and got the denial by August 5th, with the letter arriving on August 21st. I'm also wondering if I will have to go to court and present my case to a judge during the appeal process.