Employer seeking TWC unemployment specialists for UI tax questions

There are definitely some specialists here! I'm not one, but I used to work in HR dealing with TWC unemployment. From the employer side, those rate increases usually happen when you have multiple successful claims against your account. Did you receive notices about your employees filing? You should've gotten a NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS for each claim with a deadline to respond (usually 14 days). If you didn't respond or the determinations went against you, that will definitely impact your rate. The good news is you CAN appeal the tax rate itself - TWC has a specific form for this on their employer portal. Btw I've heard Claimyr is helpful for getting through to TWC reps quickly about employer accounts too, not just for claimants: https://claimyr.com - check out their video demo at https://youtu.be/V-IMvH88P1U?si=kNxmh025COIlIzKh They can help you get priority access to a TWC specialist who deals with employer accounts.

TWC is such a mess for employers too huh?? I've only dealt with them as a claimant but they were a NIGHTMARE!!! took me 6 weeks to get my claim approved and then they randomly stopped payments for "work search verification" even tho I did everything right!!! Good luck getting any answers from those people!!!!!

I've worked as an unemployment consultant for employers for 15 years, so I can offer some insights. Your tax rate increase is significant and definitely worth investigating. Here's what you need to know: 1. Tax rates are calculated based on your "chargeback history" - essentially claims paid out against your account over the past 3 years 2. Seasonal workers typically SHOULD NOT affect your rating if you properly designated them as seasonal and responded properly to the initial claims 3. You have 30 days from receiving your Annual Tax Rate Notice to file a Tax Rate Protest (Form FS-54) 4. Missing response deadlines on claim notices almost always results in automatic rulings against the employer I'd recommend pulling your Chargeback Statement from the Employer Portal first. This will show exactly which former employees' benefits affected your rating. Then file the protest with documentation showing which employees were seasonal with a regular pattern of layoff/rehire. The appeal process is separate from normal benefit determination appeals.

My wifes company went thru something similar last year. What they did was hire a specilized unemployment consultant who handles all there TWC stuff now. Its worth the money if u have alot of turnover. He saved them like $18k in tax by getting there rate lowered after he proved some claims shouldnt have counted against them. Also make sure ur documeting everything with employees, write-ups, timesheets, etc. cause if u dont u will lose determinations.

I'm on the claimant side, but my husband is a business owner too. From what he's told me, you're probably getting charged for claims you didn't properly contest. The system totally favors employees if the employer doesn't respond with solid documentation. Also, you mentioned 'seasonal workers' - there's a special designation for that in TWC's employer system that you might have missed. If properly designated, those claims shouldn't affect your rate much.

I'm a payroll accountant who handles unemployment matters for several small businesses. Here's my advice: 1. Request a detailed chargeback statement immediately (you can do this through the employer portal) 2. File a tax rate protest using Form FS-54 within your appeal window (30 days from receiving your rate notice) 3. For the seasonal workers, you need to provide documentation showing they're truly seasonal (regular pattern of employment/unemployment in the same part of each year) and that you properly informed them of this status 4. Going forward, implement a proper response system for ALL benefit claims notices - each one needs to be addressed within 14 days with supporting documentation 5. Consider signing up for the SIDES e-response system through TWC - it streamlines the entire response process and sends you reminders Your 2.9% isn't terrible (the maximum is over 7%), but it's definitely worth appealing if you have legitimate grounds. Feel free to ask if you have specific questions about any of these steps.

my cousin works for twc and says theres a huge backlog of employer appeals right now so get your paperwork in asap and be super thorough the first time

Just to follow up on my earlier comment - since you mentioned these are seasonal workers you regularly rehire, you should specifically look into TWC's "Seasonal Employer" designation. There's an actual formal process to be designated as a seasonal employer (Form C-24), and it's different from just having workers you consider "seasonal". If you get this designation, benefits paid during your designated off-season won't affect your tax rate as much. But you must apply for this status before the claims happen, not retroactively, unfortunately. Also, for future reference, always respond to ALL claim notices, even if you're not contesting them. Simply saying "claim is valid, separation was due to lack of work" helps establish your responsiveness pattern with TWC.