TWC payment request confusion for teacher with August salary continuation - report or not?

Yes, you absolutely need to report those payments! TWC considers any wages paid during your benefit period as earnings, even if you're not actually working. This is especially common with teachers who get paid over 12 months for 9-10 months of work. When you do your payment request, report your gross earnings for the specific week being requested. Your benefits will be reduced accordingly or possibly be zero for weeks where your teacher pay exceeds your weekly benefit amount.

When I was laid off from my teaching position 2 years ago, I had to report my summer paychecks and got $0 in benefits until September. It SUCKS because you already earned that money during the school year but TWC still counts it against you when it's paid out. The system is totally unfair to teachers! 😡

Speaking as a former HR person at a school district, you need to understand how TWC views your situation. What's happening is that while you earned those wages during the school year, they're being PAID to you during your unemployment period. TWC only cares about when you receive money, not when you earned it. Report the gross amount (before deductions) that you receive each week. Once your payments stop in August, your benefits should begin in full if you're still unemployed and eligible.

This is actually why many teachers don't bother filing until August when ther summer checks stop coming. But its still good u filed now to get the ball rolling so ur already in system when ur checks stop.

Correct - you should keep requesting payments every two weeks even if you're receiving $0 due to your teacher salary. This keeps your claim active. If you stop requesting payments, your claim could become inactive and you'd have to reapply in August. Also, make sure you're completing your work search requirements (minimum 3 activities per week) even during this period where you're not receiving actual benefits.

have you tried calling TWC directly to ask? this seems like a special situation and they might have specific guidance for teachers

I was in this exact situation last year and spent WEEKS trying to get through to TWC on the phone to clarify. Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to a TWC rep in about 25 minutes instead of endless busy signals. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/V-IMvH88P1U?si=kNxmh025COIlIzKh. The TWC rep confirmed exactly what others here are saying - you report the income when it's paid, not when it's earned. Keep doing payment requests every two weeks with your teacher salary reported, and then once those payments stop in August, you'll start getting your full unemployment amount.

My wife teaches and went through this whole thing last summer. Make sure you're also checking if you're potentially eligible for what they call a "reasonable assurance" disqualification. If your school gave you any indication you'd have a job next school year but then it fell through, that can complicate things too. The whole system feels designed to make it hard for educators!

That's an important detail. Since you voluntarily resigned, TWC will need to determine if you had "good cause" to leave your job. A spouse's relocation for work is often considered good cause, but you may need to provide documentation. This is separate from the payment reporting issue, but equally important for your overall eligibility. Make sure you clearly explained this when you initially filed your claim.

If you received an approval with a weekly benefit amount, that's a good sign they accepted your reason for separation. To summarize what you need to do: 1) Report your teacher salary on each payment request until it stops in August, 2) Continue making payment requests every two weeks even if you're getting $0, 3) Complete at least 3 work search activities each week, and 4) Once your teacher pay ends in August, you should begin receiving your full benefit amount assuming you're still unemployed and eligible. And yes, substitute teaching can count as a work search activity as long as you document your application/contact with the district.

Just wanted to add that you should also keep track of exactly when your last teacher paycheck comes through - sometimes districts have slight variations in their final payment dates. Once that last check clears, make sure to note it because that's when you can expect to start receiving your full unemployment benefits (assuming you're still unemployed and eligible). Also, since you mentioned relocating within Texas, you might want to update your address with TWC once you move to avoid any mail delivery issues with important correspondence about your claim.

One more thing to keep in mind - make sure you're reporting your teacher salary on the correct weeks when you do your payment requests. TWC asks for earnings for the specific week being requested, so if you get paid every two weeks or monthly, you'll need to figure out which week(s) that paycheck covers. For example, if you get paid on the 15th for work periods that span multiple weeks, you'd report that income for the weeks it actually covers, not just the week you received the payment. This can get a bit tricky with teacher pay schedules, so keep good records of your pay stubs to make sure you're reporting accurately.