The Texas Unemployment system and rules can be confusing.
As an example of the complexity, consider the case where the Texas Workforce Commission (“TWC”) determined that it had paid too much to a claimant. This is referred to as an “overpayment.” The TWC expects the claimant to repay this amount. Imagine further that the claimant died before paying it back. The state would then have a claim against the Decedent’s estate and the probate attorney helping with the estate would need to deal with the claim.
This is just one example of the myriad of facts and circumstances that make an otherwise straightforward set of rules complex. Having done this work for several years, I still encounter fact patterns like this that make it very difficult to answer even the easiest questions about Texas unemployment benefits. The answer is often “it depends.”
With that said, this article provides an overview of the Texas Unemployment Benefits and program and what you need to know to navigate the system generally.
About Texas Unemployment Benefits
Unemployment benefits in Texas are for workers who have been laid off from their jobs or who have lost hours or wages for reasons that aren’t due to employee misconduct. Texas unemployment benefits are funded through employer taxes. They are meant to provide a temporary and partial income replacement.
Texas’ unemployment system provides assistance for up to 26 weeks a year. To be eligible for unemployment benefits, you must:
- Have made enough money during what’s called a base period.
Your base period is a window of time before you lose employment or hours. - Be either unemployed or working reduced hours through no fault of your own.
This includes layoffs, reductions in hours or wages not related to misconduct, being fired for reasons other than misconduct or quitting with good cause related to work, such as unsafe working conditions. - Meet other ongoing eligibility requirements.
This includes being able to perform full-time work, participating in work search activities and having legal residence in the United States.
The most common confusion and questions about Texas Unemployment Benefits relate to the base period, quitting a job with good cause, and staying compliant with current requirements. We’ll address each in turn.
The “Base Period” for Unemployment Benefits
Your base period is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before the effective date of your initial claim. The quarter in which you file or the quarter before that are not counted–it is just the one-year period before those two quarters.
The effective date is the Sunday of the week in which you apply for benefits. If you do not have enough wages from employment in the base period, you cannot be paid benefits.
To have a payable claim, you must meet all of the following requirements:
- You have wages in more than one of the four base period calendar quarters.
- Your total base period wages are at least 37 times your weekly benefit amount.
- If you qualified for benefits on a prior claim, you must have earned six times your new weekly benefit amount since that time.
You may be able to use an alternate base period (APB) if you were out of work for at least seven weeks in one base-period quarter because of a medically verifiable illness, injury, disability, or pregnancy. The ABP uses wages paid before the illness or injury. To be eligible, you must have filed your initial claim no later than 24 months after the date that the illness, injury, disability, or pregnancy began.
You will need to provide documentation to substantiate:
- The date and nature of your illness, injury, disability, or pregnancy. It must be medically verifiable, i.e., substantiated by a health care practitioner, a health professional, or evidenced by sufficiently strong physical facts.
- You were unable to work for a period of seven weeks in one or more quarters during your regular base period.
- You had more work in your alternative base period than in your regular base period. This may require employment and wage history.
Quitting With Good Cause
The TWC will often deny unemployment benefits to people who quit their jobs. However, there are exceptions where you can quit your job for good cause and still get benefits.
The TWC provides these examples:
- Quit for good cause connected with the work, which means a work-related reason that would make an individual who wants to remain employed leave employment. You should be able to present evidence that you tried to correct work-related problems before you quit.
Examples of quitting for good work-related reason are well-documented instances of:- Unsafe working conditions
- Significant changes in hiring agreement
- Not getting paid or difficulty getting your agreed-upon pay
- Quit for a good reason not related to work, under limited circumstances. Examples include leaving work because:
- A personal medical illness or injury prevented you from working
- You are caring for a minor child who has a medical illness
- You are caring for a terminally ill spouse
- You have documented cases of sexual assault, family violence or stalking
- You entered Commission-Approved Training and the job is not considered suitable under Section 20
- You moved with your military spouse
- Quit to move with your spouse when the move is not part of a qualifying military permanent change of station (PCS). You may be eligible for benefits but you will be disqualified for 6 to 25 weeks, depending on the situation. Your maximum benefit amount is also reduced by the number of disqualified weeks.
It also says that if you quit your job for personal reasons, such as lack of transportation or to stay home with your children, this is not good cause.
Ongoing Eligibility Requirements
Texas Unemployment benefits will be paid for the allowable time as long as you continue to be eligible for benefits.
This means that you must be totally or partially unemployed (working part-time) and meet all of the following requirements:
- Meet all work search requirements, unless we exempt you from work search
- Request payment for weeks of unemployment, when scheduled
- Be physically and mentally able to work
- Be available for full-time work
- Participate in reemployment activities as required
- Respond to requests from TWC or a Workforce Solutions office as instructed
You have to report this information to the TWC online when you request payments.
Ask a Texas Unemployment Benefit Attorney
If you have questions about Texas Unemployment Benefits, you can try to find answers on the TWC website. Alternatively, you can hire a Texas Unemployment Attorney. Please contact us to see how we can help.