TWC Appeal Rules: Employer missed 14-day response deadline but filed appeal after 2 months - Can I challenge?

You're absolutely right about that 14-day rule. According to TWC rules, an employer must respond within 14 calendar days of receiving the initial claim notice to be considered an 'interested party' with appeal rights. If they missed that deadline without good cause, they technically shouldn't have appeal rights. When you receive the appeal hearing notice, you should immediately point this out in your response. Write a clear statement like: "I respectfully ask that the employer's appeal be dismissed as they failed to respond within the required 14-day period as specified in TWC regulations, and therefore do not qualify as an interested party with appeal rights." Also, come to the hearing prepared with any documentation showing when your claim was initially approved. The Appeals Tribunal should consider this procedural issue before even getting to the merits of your case.

lol good luck with that... TWC does whatever they want regardless of their own rules. My employer filed 3 WEEKS late and they still got to appeal and I had to deal with all that stress. System is completely rigged for employers.

Has anyone actually won a case based on this late response issue? I'm stressed about having to pay back months of benefits if they somehow rule against me. The company is claiming I quit, which is absolutely not true - they eliminated my position and told me there was no more work.

The 14 day rule is in Section 208.004 of the Texas Labor Code!!! Print it out and bring it with you!!! The exact wording is that employers must respond "promptly" which TWC has defined as 14 days and if they dont theyre not supposed to be able to contest the claim later!!! Make sure you tell them EXACTLY when you got approved vs when they filed the appeal!!!

wait do u still hav to do wrk searches while the appeal is going on?? my cousin had something like this happen nd he got confused about tht part

I had almost this exact situation last year! My employer didn't respond for like 25 days to my initial claim, then tried to appeal after I'd been receiving benefits for about 6 weeks. I called TWC every day for a week trying to get someone to explain if this was allowed. Always busy signals or 3+ hour wait times that would disconnect me. Finally I used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual person at TWC. They connected me in about 20 minutes. The agent confirmed that my employer had missed the deadline to be considered an interested party and noted it in my file. When the hearing happened, the hearing officer dismissed the appeal at the beginning after I brought up the late response issue. Check out their demo video if you want to see how it works: https://youtu.be/V-IMvH88P1U?si=kNxmh025COIlIzKh Definitely worth doing this to get specific advice for your situation directly from TWC.

Make sure you're ready for the hearing regardless of the late response issue. They might still proceed with the full hearing even if you raise this point. Be prepared to explain your separation in detail - have dates, names of supervisors, and any documentation showing you were laid off rather than quitting. The burden of proof is on the employer in discharge cases, but you still need to be thoroughly prepared.

i HATE when employers do this!!!! they ignore everything until they get the chargeback notice showing how much their unemployment tax might go up, THEN suddenly they care and want to fight it!!!! the system is SO RIGGED for big business!!!

One more important thing - when you attend the hearing, make sure you have your documentation organized and ready. Have the original claim date, the date of the determination letter in your favor, and the date you received the appeal notice. Present this timeline clearly to establish how much time passed. Also, be very respectful to the hearing officer even if your employer gets hostile or makes false claims. Stay calm and stick to the facts - your professionalism can make a big difference in these hearings.