Can you be denied unemployment if you are fired? Texas TWC explained this to me

My claim just moved to adjudication status this morning and I'm panicking a little. Did your agent say anything about how TWC weighs what the employer says versus what you say?

My adjudication dragged on for five weeks before I finally got a determination letter. Getting a straight answer from an actual agent made a huge difference for me too, I'll look into that service.

Four weeks into waiting and my situation sounds identical — employer contested, claim stuck. Going to try claimyr.com tomorrow morning.

No write-ups, no formal corrective action plan, nothing in writing at all. Would TWC expect my employer to show that stuff, or is it just whoever tells a more convincing story?

Documentation absolutely matters. My former employer claimed misconduct in their response to TWC but couldn't produce a single warning or write-up. Got approved.

Shifting performance targets with no documentation sounds like a layoff dressed up as a firing to me. TWC sees that pattern a lot apparently.

just bc they called it performance doesnt mean twc will see it that way, twc makes their own call

So the employer might actually push back and argue misconduct even if there were no write-ups? That's what I'm worried about.

Fourteen days is the employer response window, yes. And employers don't always respond, which can work in your favor.

my old company fought my claim and TWC still approved me. they just said my employer didnt provide enough to show actual misconduct

That's genuinely reassuring. My situation is basically the same — no specific policy violation, just vague 'not meeting expectations' language from management.

The determination letter wording on mine was similar. They need something concrete from the employer, not just 'we weren't happy with their work.

Got denied at first on a firing and appealed. The appeal hearing was just a phone call with a Hearing Officer and I got to explain exactly what happened. Ended up getting approved after that.

I did submit my first payment request already, right on the date they gave me. But I wasn't sure if I should keep going while adjudication is still open — glad I asked.

Fifth week of adjudication here and I've kept every payment request on schedule. Really important point, don't skip them thinking it doesn't matter yet.

The payment request and the adjudication process run completely separately. Adjudication is TWC figuring out if you're eligible; payment requests are you keeping your weeks preserved for whenever that decision comes through.

Fourteen days from the date it was mailed, not the date I receive it — that's important to know. Did you file the appeal through UBS online?

Filed mine right through UBS under the Submit An Appeal section. Easier than I expected honestly.

Appeal Tribunal hearing packet usually arrives five to ten days before your hearing date, and they said to register your phone number 15 to 60 minutes before the call starts.

didnt know you could appeal a firing denial, thought once they said no that was it

Mine just said 'your position is being eliminated effective immediately' which is confusing because that sounds like a layoff but HR called it a termination. Not sure how TWC will read that.

Position elimination sounds like a layoff, honestly. If that's what actually happened, the misconduct question might not even come up.

TWC looks at the actual reason for separation, not just what the paperwork says. If the work dried up, that reads differently than a firing for cause.

Already registered on WorkInTexas.com. My county requires three activities per week according to the letter I got. Logging everything in a spreadsheet.

Harris County requires five activities a week, found that out the hard way when I had only done three one week. Keep those logs detailed.

The work search log requirement is real — a friend had their benefits paused because they couldn't produce their log when TWC asked. Keep records of every application, the company name, position, date, and how you applied.

I've been doing some freelance design work on the side. So I report net profit on that since I'm self-employed, right?

Self-employed work is net profit, yes. Everything else is gross earnings. Report it for the week the work was performed, not when you actually get paid.

The 25% rule catches people off guard. If your weekly benefit is say $500, you can earn $125 before it starts cutting into your payment. Above $125, every dollar over that reduces your payment by a dollar.

Reading this thread is genuinely making me feel more hopeful. The 'performance issues' reason my employer used was completely undocumented.

Undocumented performance complaints are very hard for employers to convert into a misconduct finding at TWC. Your situation sounds defensible.

Even if TWC initially denies you, the appeal process exists for exactly this kind of case. Don't treat a denial as the final word.

Been checking UBS obsessively, appreciate the reminder to slow down. Did your status page give any hints before the actual determination arrived?

Not really — mine just said adjudication in progress right up until it suddenly showed a determination. No intermediate updates that told me anything useful.

Tele-Serv at 800-558-8321 is another way to check status without navigating the whole UBS login process, though it won't tell you much more than the portal.

I have text messages from my manager that contradict the 'you weren't meeting expectations' story. Sounds like I should screenshot and save all of that.

Screenshots, emails, performance reviews, anything from the job. You can explain all of it if your claim goes to an appeal hearing.

Even if you don't end up needing it for adjudication, having the documentation ready for a potential appeal is worth the effort now while it's fresh.

That's a really common assumption and it keeps a lot of people from even applying. The firing itself doesn't decide it — what matters is the reason behind it and whether TWC classifies that reason as misconduct.

Worth filing no matter what, honestly. Worst case TWC says no and you have 14 days to appeal. Best case you're approved from the start.

Every week I miss a payment request is a week I could lose even if I'm approved. Got it. Setting calendar reminders for every filing window.

Sunday through Wednesday is the regular filing window each week. If you miss that, you have Thursday through Saturday of the same week as a backup. After Saturday it's gone.

The two-week payment request cycle trips people up sometimes — you request payments covering two weeks at once, not separately for each week. The UBS system walks you through each week individually within that single submission.

That's exactly what I want — to know what's actually in my file and what the adjudicator is looking at. I've been flying completely blind.

Getting that visibility into your own claim status is the part that matters most while you're in adjudication limbo. Worth knowing what documentation they're waiting on before it's too late to provide it.

My highest quarter was probably Q1 of this year when I picked up extra project work. Good to know that quarter would likely factor in.

The maximum weekly benefit amount is $619 right now for claims filed after October 4, 2026. Even if your highest quarter math comes out higher than that, $619 is the ceiling.

And the total you can collect is capped at either 26 times your weekly amount or 27% of all your base period wages, whichever comes out lower. So higher earners sometimes hit the percentage cap before the week cap.

So that first week just sits there until one of those two things happens? Both conditions have to be met?

Both conditions together, yes. Getting paid twice your weekly amount alone isn't enough, and returning to work alone isn't enough either. You need both, and then you request it.

This confused me too at first — I thought the waiting week was just permanently lost. It's not, it's held.

Had a coworker who went back to work and forgot to request the waiting week. Had to call TWC to sort it out. Set a reminder for yourself when you do return to work.

So if my claim gets approved, I should be actively job searching and accepting suitable work within my benefit year window rather than dragging things out?

Exactly. Suitable work in the first eight weeks means jobs paying at least 90% of what you normally made. After eight weeks that threshold drops to 75%. You have to be genuinely able and available for full-time work every week you claim.

And 'available' means actually available — if something is preventing you from accepting full-time work in a given week, that affects your eligibility for that week.

I would absolutely have panicked about that section too. Good heads up.

my employer actually called me after getting that notice, asking me to withdraw my claim. you don't have to do anything they ask, that's between them and TWC

An employer asking you to withdraw your claim is surprisingly common. You have every right to let your claim proceed. Withdrawing it doesn't help you at all.

The ID.me verification step tripped me up too — I completed it but wasn't sure if UBS had actually updated. Good to know an agent can confirm that.

ID.me verification shows up in your UBS account once it's processed but it's not always instant. If your status still looks off after a day or two, following up with an agent makes sense.

TWC makes the call independently — the employer labeling it misconduct doesn't make it misconduct. They have to actually describe what happened, and TWC evaluates that description against their own definition. A lot of employers say misconduct and then can't support it when TWC asks for specifics.

Texas is at-will employment state so yes, they can fire you for almost any reason. But what they can fire you for and what counts as misconduct for unemployment purposes are genuinely different standards. Lots of legal firings don't qualify as misconduct under TWC's definition.

Both you and the employer get to tell your side. If the employer claims misconduct but you have context showing it wasn't intentional or that expectations weren't communicated, TWC weighs all of that.