Can you get unemployment after a temporary job ends in Texas TWC?

Wait, you actually have to ask the agency for a new assignment first? That part is news to me. What happens if they give you something but it's way less hours or completely different work than what you were doing?

The ask-first rule is real, I went through the same thing. The agency offered me a one-day event gig and I didn't think that counted but I took it anyway. Ended up applying after that short thing ended and it was fine.

Glad someone actually got through to TWC. Every time I've tried calling I either sit on hold for an hour and get disconnected or the system just tells me to call back later.

So the three business days start after I ask and they say they have nothing? Or after the assignment actually ended?

After you ask and they say they have nothing available. So ask, get their answer, then count three business days from that point, then file.

This is accurate. I work adjacent to HR at a company that uses temp agencies a lot and this is exactly how it works. The agency is on the hook as the employer of record, so the wage history from the assignment gets reported under their account.

Thank you for saying this clearly. So many people believe the myth that temps just can't file at all.

That's actually really helpful. My assignment started in March so I want to make sure I'm not accidentally cutting myself out of some of those wages by waiting too long.

The base period math is confusing at first but once you get it it makes sense. Filed mine in November and was surprised which months actually counted.

Exactly the kind of thing worth checking before you assume all seven months will show up. Sometimes a chunk of earnings falls in the most recent quarter which isn't part of the standard base period.

Good to know it wasn't a nightmare. Did they contact your agency during that time, like did the agency have to verify anything?

TWC mails the employer — the agency in this case — a notice asking them to respond. The agency has two weeks to respond. Mine didn't dispute anything so it moved along without any back and forth.

My agency did respond and pushed back saying I had turned down a placement, which wasn't entirely accurate. Ended up in adjudication for a while. Keep records of every conversation with the agency about placements just in case.

That makes me feel better about asking them. If they offer something way outside what I was doing for seven months I want to know I have some ground to stand on.

Just make sure you're being honest with yourself about whether the reason is legitimate. 'It's a longer commute' probably won't be enough. 'It's a completely different industry and pays 40 percent less' is a stronger case.

What about if the offered assignment is only like 10 hours a week when you were working full time before? Does that count as suitable work?

Part-time offers when you were full-time before is a gray area — I'd honestly just describe the situation accurately on the application and let TWC make the call rather than assuming either way.

Yeah it's frustrating. I genuinely liked the work and the team at the warehouse. Just how it goes I guess.

The frustration is valid but the good news is that an assignment ending with no fault on your side is about the cleanest unemployment situation there is. No misconduct questions, no quitting questions, just a straight layoff situation.

I had no idea the number of job search activities is different by county. I'm in Harris County, does anyone know what it is there?

Harris County is five per week. Same as Dallas, Bexar, Tarrant, and Travis. Keep good records of each one.

Five a week is more than I expected but okay. That's doable if I'm actively looking anyway.

Make sure you're logging everything properly as you go, not trying to reconstruct it later. Even just a simple spreadsheet with the company, date, how you applied, and any contact info is enough to satisfy the requirement if you get audited.

Wait I thought the waiting week just paid out automatically after a couple of payments? I didn't know you had to request it if you go back to work.

Yeah that's the part a lot of people miss. If you exhaust benefits it handles itself, but if you land a job first you have to actively request it in UBS or through Tele-Serv, otherwise you lose track of it.

Good to know this in advance rather than finding out after the fact. I'll set a reminder for myself.

That math is helpful to see laid out like that. Mine would probably be a bit higher than that since the last few months were pretty full hours.

The cap for weekly benefits right now is $619 for claims filed from early October this year. So even if your math comes out higher than that, $619 is as high as it goes.

And the total you can collect is capped too — it's either 26 times your weekly amount or 27 percent of everything you earned in the base period, whichever is smaller.

Oh that's a really important point. I would have assumed I needed to wait for an approval before doing anything else.

A lot of people make that mistake. If you wait for the determination and miss some payment request dates in the meantime, you don't get paid for those weeks. The requests and the eligibility process run on separate tracks.

This is probably the most common mistake I see people mention. File the payment requests on schedule no matter what else is pending.

You'd need to report starting work if you take the assignment. If the job pays enough to push you over your weekly benefit amount plus 25 percent, you won't get a payment for that week. And a full-time job ends your eligibility from the start date. If it's part-time, you report your earnings each week and benefits adjust accordingly.

Got it. So it's not all or nothing if the new assignment is only part-time.

Right, there's a formula. You can earn up to 25 percent of your weekly benefit amount without any reduction. Anything above that starts cutting into the payment dollar for dollar above that threshold. So it's worth running the numbers on any part-time offer.

That's the exact confusion I have too — the application asks about your employer and I wasn't sure if I should put the agency name or the warehouse where I actually worked.

Put the agency. They're the employer of record. The client company site where you physically worked is relevant to the circumstances but the agency is who reported your wages.

Confirmed. I made the mistake of listing the client company first and had to call and correct it. Put the staffing agency name and their address, not the job site.

Okay that's genuinely clarifying because I've seen both terms thrown around and wasn't sure which stage I'd even be in.

For a standard temp assignment ending with no disputes from the agency, you probably won't even hit adjudication. But if the agency says you declined a placement, that's what triggers the extra review.

The 14-day appeal window from the determination letter date is the one to watch. Clock starts from when they mailed it, not when you got it, so open everything from TWC immediately.

How did it end up? Did the appeal go through?

Won the appeal. The Hearing Officer went with what I described about the assignment ending. The agency didn't send anyone to the hearing so it was basically just me explaining the timeline. Took about two and a half months from filing to written decision.

This is exactly why keeping records of every communication with the agency is so important. Email them when you ask for a new assignment so you have a timestamp.

Good to know about the payment requests continuing through an appeal. I wouldn't have thought to keep doing them if I got denied.

That's exactly the trap. Keep requesting on your regular two-week schedule no matter what. Missing a request window means that week doesn't get paid even if everything else resolves in your favor.

Knowing someone has done it successfully more than once makes me feel like it's genuinely a workable process.

The main thing is not overthinking it. Answer the questions accurately, describe the situation as it actually happened, don't try to frame it in a way you think sounds better. Just honest and straight.

The documentation before you file is the part worth spending a little time on. Dates, names, the contact with the agency — having that ready when you're filling out the application makes it go faster.

Hadn't even thought about taxes. I'll set up the withholding from the start.

Smart move. Having to come up with a lump sum for federal taxes in April when you've been on unemployment is a bad situation.

Okay that's a strong argument for not waiting. Filing this weekend.

Also, if you get a job and then lose it again within that same benefit year, you can go back to the same claim rather than starting over from scratch, as long as benefits haven't been exhausted.

Apply through UBS online — the link is https://apps.twc.texas.gov/UBS/security/logon.do — takes less than half an hour if you have your employment history ready.

The process works the same way it does for anyone else once you understand the temp-specific steps at the front end. The ask-the-agency-first part is what trips people up.

True, once you clear that hurdle it's the same path. Still annoying to have that extra layer.

That's a good use case — I'd want to confirm my own county requirement before potentially under-reporting job search activities.

Yeah her situation was the job site was in one county but she lived in another and wasn't sure which one TWC went by. The agent clarified it's the county where you live, not where you worked.