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I'm dealing with almost the exact same situation right now! Filed my claim about a month ago and have been requesting payments whenever it was convenient for me during what I thought was my "request week." After reading through all these responses, I realize I've probably been doing it completely wrong. Just logged into my TWC account and found that calendar view everyone mentioned - my assigned days are apparently Thursday/Friday (my claim effective date ends in 6). I've been requesting on random days like Sunday or Monday when I remembered to do it. No wonder the system seems confused! @Ezra the tip about calling at exactly 7:01 AM seems to be the most consistent advice here. I'm going to try that tomorrow too. Also planning to check out that Claimyr service that @Jay mentioned - anything to avoid spending hours on hold. It's honestly ridiculous that TWC doesn't explain this request schedule clearly during the application process. How are new claimants supposed to know that the days are fixed based on your claim effective date? The website just says "request payment every two weeks" which makes it sound like you have flexibility. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - this thread has been more helpful than the entire TWC website!
@Diego you're absolutely right that TWC should explain this way better during the application process! I'm also new to all this and had no idea about the fixed request days until I found this thread. It's crazy how many people are making the same mistake because the system is so unclear. I've been taking notes from everyone's advice here and it sounds like the 7:01 AM calling strategy is definitely the way to go. Also going to try that technical issues option that @Nina mentioned instead of general questions - seems like it might have shorter wait times. Good luck getting through to them tomorrow! Hopefully we can both get this sorted out quickly. At least now we know we're not alone in being confused by this system and that it's totally fixable once you reach someone at TWC.
This whole thread has been incredibly educational! I'm a new claimant (just filed 2 weeks ago) and I had absolutely no clue about the fixed request days based on your claim effective date. I've been planning to just request "every two weeks" whenever it was convenient, so I would have definitely run into this same issue. Just checked my TWC account using the calendar view tip that several people mentioned - my claim effective date ends in 8, so I should be requesting on Friday/Saturday according to the pattern. Going to screenshot that calendar and set up multiple reminders right now before I forget! @Ezra I hope you got through to TWC today! Between the 7:01 AM calling strategy, the technical issues queue option, and that Claimyr service, it sounds like you have some solid approaches to try. This community is amazing for sharing real-world solutions that actually work. TWC really needs to hire whoever wrote these responses to redo their website because this thread explained the system better than any of their official documentation!
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One thing that really helped me when I was in a similar situation was creating a simple spreadsheet to track my weekly earnings vs. the benefit threshold. I put in columns for hours worked, hourly rate, gross earnings, the 25% allowance ($106.25 in your case), and calculated reduction. It made it so much easier to see exactly where I stood each week and plan my hours accordingly. Since you're looking at $18/hr, you could work about 29.5 hours before hitting that $531.25 cutoff where benefits stop completely. Also, make sure you're reporting earnings for the week you actually worked, not when you got paid - that tripped me up initially and caused some confusion with my payment requests.
That's a brilliant idea about the spreadsheet! I'm definitely going to set something like that up. The timing clarification is really helpful too - I was wondering whether to report based on when I work or when I get paid. So if I work Monday-Friday but don't get paid until the following week, I report it for the week I actually worked? Just want to make sure I understand that correctly.
Just wanted to add something that might help - I found out the hard way that TWC also counts tips, commissions, and any other income (like freelance work) toward your weekly earnings limit. So if your part-time job involves tips or if you do any gig work on the side, make sure to include ALL of that income when calculating whether you'll go over the $531.25 threshold. Also, keep detailed records of everything - pay stubs, tip logs, etc. TWC can audit your earnings at any time, and if they find unreported income, they can make you pay back benefits AND add penalties. I've seen people get hit with huge overpayment bills months later because they forgot to report cash tips or a small side job. The good news is that $18/hr for 22 hours puts you right in the sweet spot where you'll still get partial benefits plus be earning more overall than just unemployment alone. Just stay organized and report everything accurately!
This is such important information! I wouldn't have thought about tips and freelance work counting toward the limit. I don't have any side gigs right now, but the part-time job I'm considering is at a restaurant, so there would definitely be tips involved. Do you know if there's a standard way TWC expects you to track and report tips? Like do they want daily records or just the total at the end of the week? I want to make sure I'm doing this right from the start rather than scrambling to reconstruct records later if they audit me.
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Reading through all these success stories is giving me so much hope for my own situation! I'm dealing with a similar TWC appeal - got terminated from a warehouse job and they're claiming "misconduct" for what were actually approved time-off requests that I had submitted weeks in advance through their online system. Like Connor, I was feeling really intimidated about going up against a big company in a hearing, but seeing how many people here have won their appeals with proper documentation is incredibly encouraging. I have screenshots of my approved time-off requests and email confirmations, so it sounds like I'm in a similar position. One thing I'm wondering about - for those who won their appeals, did the hearing officers seem receptive to digital evidence like screenshots and email printouts? I want to make sure I'm presenting my documentation in the most effective way possible. Connor, your case sounds rock solid! The fact that they're claiming "call avoidance" for days you weren't even at work honestly makes their whole argument fall apart. It sounds like they're either confused or deliberately misrepresenting things, and your text message proof should clear that up immediately. You've definitely made the right choice to fight this!
Yes, digital evidence like screenshots and email printouts are totally acceptable and effective! I used screenshots of text messages and company policy pages during my appeal and the hearing officer had no issues with them at all. Just make sure they're clear and readable - if you have timestamps visible, even better. Your situation with approved time-off requests sounds even stronger than misconduct cases involving sick days. If you have documentation showing the company approved your requests in advance, that's about as clear-cut as it gets for proving you didn't commit misconduct. How can following their own approval process be considered willful disregard? The key is organizing everything chronologically so you can walk the hearing officer through exactly what happened: you submitted requests, company approved them, you took the approved time off, then they terminated you and claimed misconduct. The contradiction should be obvious to anyone reviewing the facts. Connor's case and yours both show how some employers just throw around the "misconduct" label hoping people won't fight back. But TWC hearing officers see right through these tactics when employees come prepared with documentation. You're both making the right call to appeal!
I've been following this thread as someone who just won my own TWC appeal last week, and I want to echo what everyone else is saying - definitely fight this! Your case sounds incredibly strong. What really stands out to me is that your employer is claiming "call avoidance" for days you weren't even at work. That's not just weak evidence - it's potentially fraudulent misrepresentation to TWC. Call avoidance implies you were physically present at work but deliberately not taking calls. Being out sick with proper notification is literally the opposite of that. I had a similar experience with an employer who tried to reframe legitimate FMLA leave as "job abandonment." The hearing officer saw right through it because the facts didn't match their claims. In your case, your text messages proving proper notification should immediately expose the disconnect in their story. One practical tip: when you present your evidence, clearly explain what "call avoidance" actually means in call center terms, then contrast that with what you actually did (called in sick following company policy). This will help the hearing officer understand why their characterization makes no sense. The fact that you've already gathered your text messages and are getting medical documentation shows you're taking this seriously. That level of preparation usually wins these hearings. Don't let them bully you out of benefits you've earned - you've got this!
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I'm absolutely horrified reading through all of these experiences - it's clear that TWC's Commission Appeal process is completely broken and systematically failing people when they need help most. A year+ wait with zero communication is unconscionable for any government agency. What really gets me is that we're all having to become experts in bureaucratic warfare just to get basic services we're legally entitled to. The fact that multiple people have found success with the "shotgun approach" (state senators, ombudsman, BBB complaints, individual Commissioner letters, media outreach) shows that TWC only responds to external pressure, not to serving the people who depend on them. For anyone just starting this process, please learn from everyone's experiences here: - Document EVERYTHING from day one (dates, times, names, reference numbers) - Don't rely on just one avenue - hit them from multiple angles simultaneously - State senators seem more effective than state reps - BBB complaints actually get responses (bizarre but apparently true) - Local investigative reporters love these government dysfunction stories The systemic nature of these delays really does seem like it could warrant legal action or at minimum a formal investigation by the State Auditor. When this many people are experiencing identical problems (cases sitting unassigned, zero communication, excessive delays), that's not individual failures - that's institutional dysfunction. Keep fighting everyone. The system is designed to make you give up, but your stories prove that persistence and strategic pressure actually work. We shouldn't have to do this, but since we do, at least we can support each other through it!
This whole thread has been incredibly eye-opening and honestly both heartbreaking and infuriating to read. I'm just starting to navigate the unemployment appeals process myself (currently at the initial appeal level) and I had no idea what a nightmare the Commission Appeals could become. What really strikes me is how every single person here has basically had to become a full-time advocate for their own case, developing expertise in government pressure tactics that most people should never need to know. The fact that the "shotgun approach" keeps working proves that TWC is more responsive to political and media pressure than to actually serving unemployed Texans who are counting on these benefits. I'm definitely taking notes on everyone's strategies and starting my documentation trail now, even though I'm hoping it won't get to the Commission level. But if it does, at least I'll be prepared with the multi-pronged approach that seems to actually get results. One thing that occurs to me reading all this - has anyone considered reaching out to employment law attorneys who might be willing to take on a pro bono case or class action? When you have this many people experiencing identical systematic failures (lost cases, no communication, 12+ month delays), that seems like it could be grounds for legal action against TWC for failing to provide due process. Thank you all for sharing your experiences and strategies. It's terrible that we need this information, but I'm grateful this community exists to help people navigate this broken system!
I'm dealing with almost the exact same situation and this thread has been incredibly validating - I thought I was going crazy! I've been waiting 15 months for my Commission Appeal decision after my employer falsely claimed I was terminated for "poor performance" (I have emails proving otherwise). What's particularly maddening is that I actually called TWC yesterday using the Claimyr service someone mentioned earlier, and even the Tier 2 rep told me they have "no visibility" into Commission Appeals once they're submitted. She literally said "it's like they disappear into a black hole." At least she was honest! I'm going to implement the multi-pronged strategy everyone's outlined here - state senator, ombudsman, BBB complaint, and individual Commissioner letters. The fact that so many people have found success with this approach gives me hope that persistence really does pay off. One thing I wanted to add based on my research - I found out that TWC is required to maintain certain performance standards under federal law for processing unemployment appeals. If anyone has documentation of these excessive delays, it might be worth filing a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor as well. Federal oversight might carry more weight than state-level complaints. Thank you all for sharing your experiences and strategies. It's awful that we need this information, but this community is a lifeline for people navigating this broken system. I'll definitely update with my progress!
That's such a great point about federal oversight! I hadn't thought about the Department of Labor angle, but you're absolutely right that there are probably federal performance standards TWC is supposed to meet. If they're systematically failing to process appeals within reasonable timeframes, that could be a violation of federal requirements. The fact that even the Tier 2 rep admitted Commission Appeals "disappear into a black hole" is both validating and infuriating. At least we know we're not imagining this dysfunction! It's honestly shocking that a government agency can openly acknowledge they have no tracking or oversight of such critical cases. I'm really interested in your idea about filing with the U.S. Department of Labor. Do you happen to know which specific office handles unemployment program oversight? That could be another powerful tool in the arsenal everyone's building here. Federal agencies sometimes have more leverage to force state compliance than state-level complaints. Your 15-month wait is absolutely unacceptable - I hope the multi-pronged approach breaks through the logjam for you soon. Please keep us posted on what works, especially if you pursue the federal complaint route. The more strategies we can share that actually get results, the better equipped everyone will be to fight this broken system!
The U.S. Department of Labor oversight angle is brilliant! I believe the Office of Unemployment Insurance within DOL handles state program compliance. You can file complaints through their website or contact their regional offices. When states fail to meet federal timeliness standards for appeals, DOL can actually withhold administrative funding, which tends to get agencies' attention quickly. What's really telling is that Tier 2 rep's admission about Commission Appeals disappearing into a "black hole." That's basically a government employee confirming there's no accountability or tracking system for these cases. In any functional organization, that would be grounds for immediate process reform. I'm curious - when you filed your Commission Appeal 15 months ago, did you get any kind of receipt or confirmation with a case number? Even that basic tracking information seems to be missing from this process. It's like they designed the system to be as opaque as possible. The federal complaint route combined with the state-level pressure tactics everyone's sharing here could be really powerful. Federal oversight + state senator inquiries + media attention might be the combination that finally forces some accountability. Keep us posted on your progress with DOL - that could be a game-changer for all of us dealing with this broken system!
Everett Tutum
I just want to add my experience since I see so many people going through this same anxiety! I switched to ReliaCard about 10 months ago and that first deposit took a full 3 business days - I was checking the app constantly and even called TWC twice thinking something was wrong. But everyone here is right - after that first payment, it becomes super reliable. Mine now consistently shows up within 24-48 hours, usually around midnight or early morning. The key thing that helped my peace of mind was realizing that "payment processed" in your TWC account just means they've approved it and sent it to the bank - there's still the actual transfer time. Since you mentioned rent is due soon, you might want to give your landlord a heads up about the timing just in case. Most property managers understand that government payments can have delays. Hang in there, Friday sounds very realistic based on your timeline!
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William Rivera
•Thank you so much for sharing your experience! It's really reassuring to hear from someone who went through the exact same anxiety 10 months ago. I've definitely been guilty of checking the app way too often and almost called TWC myself yesterday thinking I did something wrong. Your explanation about "payment processed" just meaning it's approved and sent to the bank makes total sense - I was thinking that meant the money should already be on my card. I actually did reach out to my landlord this morning after reading some of the suggestions here, and thankfully they're understanding about a few extra days. Based on everyone's timelines, Friday does seem realistic and I'm feeling much more confident now. This community has been incredibly helpful for a first-timer like me!
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Sophia Bennett
I'm new to unemployment benefits and considering switching to direct deposit since everyone here seems to recommend it over paper checks. Reading through all these experiences is super helpful! Quick question - do you have to wait for your current paper check cycle to finish before you can switch to ReliaCard, or can you make the change right away? Also, is there any fee for getting the ReliaCard or using it for regular purchases? I'm trying to weigh the pros and cons before making the switch. Thanks for sharing your timeline - it's really helpful to see what to expect for that first deposit!
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