Can you get unemployment if you quit for medical reasons in Texas TWC?

My restrictions were job-specific. I could do lighter work, sedentary stuff, just not the physical demands of my old position. Does that count as being available?

That should actually help you. Being available for a different category of work usually satisfies the availability requirement. Make sure your appeal letter spells that out clearly and attach anything from your doctor that describes the specific limitations versus what your old job required.

The 14-day window to appeal starts from the date printed at the top of the determination letter, not the date you received it. Worth double-checking that before anything else.

My bigger issue right now is probably the appeal since the determination already came out. But good to know for when I need to follow up on where it stands.

My aunt's claim had a documentation question that never got answered through the online portal. Might set this up for her.

Got through to an agent through it when I needed to ask about how severance was going to affect my payments. The agent walked me through the whole thing in about ten minutes.

Did you win yours? And how long did the whole hearing process take from filing the appeal to getting a decision?

Won mine, yes. Took about two and a half months from appeal filing to written decision. The hearing itself is a phone call, not in-person. You get a packet mailed to you five to ten days before with all the info. Register your phone number in the morning before the hearing, they tell you to do it somewhere between 15 and 60 minutes before the scheduled time.

Two and a half months is about right from what I've seen others say. Some take longer. Keep filing your payment requests the whole time, that part is easy to let slide when you're stressed about the appeal.

Not automatic at all. TWC looks at the full picture: whether the condition was medically documented, whether you could still work in some capacity, and whether you actually tried to fix the situation before leaving. Mental health conditions can count just like physical ones if they're documented by a treating provider. The issue is always the proof.

That makes sense. My friend doesn't have a lot of documentation, that might be a problem.

No documentation is a really tough spot for an appeal. TWC needs something concrete from a medical provider, not just the claimant's word for it.

I have emails specifically where HR told me the role couldn't be modified and that if I couldn't perform all functions I'd need to separate. I saved all of those.

Those emails are gold for your appeal. That's the employer refusing accommodation in writing. Attach every single one.

Print them, screenshot them, email them to yourself as backup. Don't let the only copy live somewhere you could lose access to.

Your coworker has part of it right but is overgeneralizing. Quitting for personal reasons like not liking the commute or wanting to stay home doesn't qualify. But quitting because of your own illness or injury that prevented you from doing the job is specifically listed by TWC as something that can be payable. It's a narrower exception but it exists.

oh ok that makes more sense, appreciate the clarification

UBS is probably easiest for me. Is there anything specific the appeal statement needs to say or is it just explaining your situation in your own words?

Just explain what happened honestly and clearly. State why you believe the determination was wrong and what evidence you have. Don't overthink the format, they're not looking for a legal brief.

Attaching the supporting documents right there when you submit beats mailing them separately. Everything stays together that way.

I haven't been filing because I assumed the disqualification meant I wasn't supposed to. Am I already behind?

File as soon as possible. Payment requests can still be filed Thursday through Saturday of the week they're due if you miss the Sunday to Wednesday window. After that the week is gone. For older missed weeks, call TWC directly because those are harder to fix.

This is so important. The appeal doesn't pause the payment request schedule. Keep filing every two weeks on your regular schedule no matter what.

TWC doesn't publicly distinguish between chronic and sudden conditions in terms of how they evaluate the quit. What matters is that it's medically documented and that it was the actual reason you couldn't continue. Whether it built up over time or happened all at once doesn't seem to change the framework.

Makes sense. My situation is a long-term thing so I was wondering if that made it harder to argue it caused the separation.

So even if I win the appeal and back weeks get approved, that first week stays on hold until one of those two things happens?

Exactly. It's not lost, just held. If you return to work full-time you can actually request it - there's an option in UBS or through Tele-Serv. Otherwise it comes at the end if you exhaust benefits.

Tele-Serv option 2 then option 4 gets you to the waiting week request if you go back to work. Worth knowing ahead of time.

That's a little alarming to hear but makes sense. I'll make sure my appeal covers the accommodation request and their response thoroughly.

The Hearing Officer at the appeal level reviews what both sides said and what documentation is provided. That's why the hearing is a better venue than the initial determination for a situation like this.

Calendar days, correct. Weekends and holidays count. The date that matters is the mailing date printed at the top of the letter, not when you got it in your mailbox. If the letter is dated a few days before you received it, that eats into your window.

That seems like it could sneak up on you fast if mail is slow.

Mine arrived four days after the date on the letter. Already looked into it and I still have time, filing today.

didn't know you could get ahead of an audit like that, good thinking

Worth doing whenever something is unresolved and you can't get answers online. The portal doesn't always reflect what's actually happening on the back end.

I've been doing activities but honestly wasn't totally sure I still needed to since my claim was disqualified. Glad I kept it up.

Keep logging them with dates and employer contact info. TWC can request the log at any point and 'I did activities but didn't write them down' doesn't hold up.

WorkInTexas.com job applications count toward the requirement in most cases, right?

Applications submitted there count toward your work search activities, yes. Make sure you're recording them in your log the same way you would any other activity.

My income was pretty stable over the last couple years so hopefully that works in my favor on the amount side.

Just check your base period quarters in UBS once your claim is active. It shows what TWC used to calculate the amount.

I have general notes from appointments but not a letter specifically written for TWC. Might be worth requesting one before the hearing.

Ask the doctor's office to write one that describes your specific limitations and states clearly that the demands of your previous job exceeded those limitations. The more specific the better.

Ask for it on official letterhead with the provider's contact information. The Hearing Officer may need to verify it.

Really hoping it doesn't go that far but good to know the full picture.

First level hearing resolves most of these. The documentation situation described here sounds strong enough to have a real shot.

Hadn't even thought about that yet. How do you opt in to withholding?

There's a tax withholding option in UBS you can set up. You can change it at any time, it's not locked in.

10 percent doesn't cover everyone's full tax liability depending on other income. Might be worth running numbers with a tax person if you have a complicated year.

My hours were reduced in the last quarter of that range, which might affect things. Is there any way to use a different period?

There's an alternate base period but it's only available in a specific situation - if you were out of work for at least seven weeks in a base period quarter because of a medically verifiable illness or injury. If that applies to you, call a Tele-Center and ask, don't assume it does or doesn't. It's not just a general fallback for anyone with low wages.

That's an important distinction. The alternate base period isn't just 'I earned less than usual' - it's a specific medical absence rule with a threshold.

Appeal went in this afternoon through UBS. Now I wait. Really appreciate everyone in this thread who took the time to explain all of this.

Keep filing payment requests on schedule and hold onto every document. The hearing packet will come in the mail and give you all the specifics for the call.

Post back when you get a date. Others searching for the same situation will find this thread useful.

40 minutes is a lot better than the three hours I spent hitting redial last time I tried calling TWC.

The portal answers a lot but sometimes only a live agent can tell you what's actually happening on the account. Having a way to reach one without the redial marathon matters.