Disaster unemployment appeal taking 30+ days - normal TWC timeline?

Unfortunately, disaster unemployment appeals can take longer than regular UI appeals. My cousin went through this last year after that tornado hit Dallas. I think it took about 45-50 days before he got his hearing date scheduled, and then another 2-3 weeks before the actual hearing. The TWC is always backlogged with appeals, but disaster ones seem to take extra time because they have to verify all the documentation with FEMA sometimes. Have you tried calling the appeals department directly? There's a separate number for them.

my regular ui appeal took 6 weeks to get scheduled and that wasnt even for a disaster claim so yeah pretty normal unfortunately

I work as an employment lawyer in Houston and unfortunately, what you're experiencing is pretty standard right now. TWC appeal scheduling for disaster claims is currently running 35-45 days, and that's just to get a date assigned - not for the actual hearing. Here are a few things you can do: 1. Make sure your contact information is updated in the TWC system (especially phone number and email) 2. Check your spam folder daily - sometimes hearing notices get filtered there 3. Continue requesting regular UI payments while your appeal is pending if you're eligible 4. Prepare your evidence and arguments while waiting - organize documents chronologically 5. Consider reaching out to your state representative's office - they can sometimes expedite cases The most important thing to remember is that if your appeal is eventually approved, you'll get backdated payments for all eligible weeks, so make sure you continue requesting payment every two weeks even while waiting for the appeal.

Anyone else noticed the whole appeals system got way worse after COVID? I filed an appeal for regular UI (not disaster) in December and didn't get my hearing scheduled until February 28th - so almost 60 days! And then they sent the hearing notice only 4 days before the actual hearing date! The whole system is a joke honestly. I feel for you with the disaster claim because those are even more complicated.

have u tried using Claimyr to get through to TWC? i was going CRAZY trying to get an update on my appeal and couldn't reach anyone for weeks. i found this service at claimyr.com and they got me connected to a TWC agent in like 15 minutes. they have some video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/V-IMvH88P1U?si=kNxmh025COIlIzKh i was able to find out my appeal was actually scheduled but they hadn't sent the notice yet. at least i got some answers!

Make sure you document EVERYTHING. Take screenshots of your online portal showing the 'Appeal Pending' status with dates visible. Call the appeals department EVERY WEEK and get the name of whoever you speak with. You need to build a paper trail showing you've been diligently following up. If they take longer than 60 days, you can file a complaint with the DOL because that violates federal guidelines for timely appeal hearings. Don't let them get away with this nonsense!

One more thing - are you making sure to do your work search activities while waiting? Even with a disaster claim appeal pending, you still need to do the work search requirements (3 per week in Texas) and log them with your payment requests. I've seen people win their appeals but then get disqualified for different weeks because they didn't keep up with work search during the waiting period.

Just to update you on current timelines - I had another client with a disaster appeal from the January flooding get their hearing date yesterday. They filed their appeal on February 10th, so that's about 38 days to get the hearing scheduled. The actual hearing is set for April 2nd (so another two weeks out). This seems to be the current timeline for most disaster-related appeals right now.