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Lydia Bailey

TWC payment requests after resuming work - do I stop requesting after approved waiting week?

So I recently started a new job but it didn't work out (only lasted about 4 days). Before that happened, I had requested my waiting week from TWC and surprisingly it just got approved for this week. My question is - in the next two weeks when my payment request is due again, should I just stop requesting payments altogether since I briefly worked? Or do I need to formally close my claim somehow? I don't want to accidentally commit fraud but also don't want to mess up my claim in case I need benefits again soon. Not sure what the proper procedure is here.

Mateo Warren

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You should ALWAYS report your work and earnings when requesting payment, even if it was just for a few days. If you earned enough during those days to not qualify for benefits that week, TWC will just not pay you for that week, but your claim stays open. Don't just stop requesting - that's actually the wrong way to handle it.

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Lydia Bailey

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Thanks for responding! So you're saying I should keep requesting payments and just report the days I worked? Even though the job didn't work out, do I need to report that I'm not working there anymore on my next payment request?

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Sofia Price

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went thru this last month... keep requesting payments and report the exact days u worked and what u earned. TWC keeps ur claim active for a full year from when u first applied so u dont need to \

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Lydia Bailey

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That makes sense, thank you! I wasn't sure if stopping requests automatically closed my claim or if I needed to do something specific.

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Alice Coleman

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The correct procedure is to continue requesting payments every two weeks and accurately report any work and earnings. Your claim remains open for the benefit year (52 weeks from when you first applied), even if you don't receive payments for some weeks.\n\nWhen you request payment, you'll need to:\n1. Report the days you worked\n2. Report the gross earnings (before taxes) for the work period\n3. Indicate whether you're still working at that job\n4. Continue doing your three work search activities per week\n\nIf you earned too much during a particular week, you won't receive benefits for that week, but your claim stays active. Just be completely honest about your work situation - TWC tracks employment through employer tax records, so they'll know if you worked somewhere.

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Lydia Bailey

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This is super helpful information, thank you! I'll definitely report everything accurately on my next payment request. One last question - since I'm not at that job anymore, do I need to add it to my work search log as a place I applied to, or is that totally separate?

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Alice Coleman

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The work search log and reporting work/earnings are separate things. You wouldn't add your previous employer to your work search log since you already worked there. \n\nYour work search activities should be new contacts with potential employers (applications, interviews, networking, etc.) that you're doing each week to find new employment. You still need to complete three work search activities each week to remain eligible for benefits, even in weeks where you worked a few days.

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Owen Jenkins

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If you don't request payment for three consecutive periods, your claim becomes inactive and you'd have to reapply. I've used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to TWC agents when I had a similar situation - they got me connected to a real person in about 15 minutes when I had been trying for days on my own. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/V-IMvH88P1U?si=kNxmh025COIlIzKh. Clearing things up directly with an agent gave me peace of mind I was doing everything right.

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Lilah Brooks

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does that claimyr thing actually work? ive been trying to get someone on the phone for like a week now and just get busy signals everytime

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Owen Jenkins

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Yes it worked for me! I was skeptical too but I was desperate after trying for days. Got connected to an agent who explained exactly what I needed to do in my situation. Worth it when you need to talk to someone right away about your claim.

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I made this EXACT mistake last year and it was a nightmare to fix! Don't stop requesting payments - that's not how the system works. Keep requesting every two weeks and report your earnings accurately.\n\nIf you just stop requesting, TWC doesn't know if you're working full-time, forgot to request, or what happened. Then if you need benefits again soon (which sounds possible in your case), you might have to reapply and go through the waiting week again. Just keep requesting and be truthful about what you earned.

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Lydia Bailey

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Oh wow, I'm so glad I asked here first! Definitely don't want to deal with a nightmare situation. I'll keep making my requests and report everything correctly.

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Kolton Murphy

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Question - does anyone know if the 4 days of work would reset the waiting week requirement if the person has to reapply later? Or does the waiting week stay satisfied as long as it's within the benefit year?

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Alice Coleman

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Great question. As long as it's within the same benefit year (52 weeks from initial claim filing), you don't have to serve another waiting week if you've already satisfied that requirement. Brief employment doesn't reset the waiting week requirement within the same benefit year.\n\nHowever, if your benefit year expires and you need to file a new claim, you would need to serve a new waiting week.

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Sofia Price

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also make sure ur doing ur 3 work search activities every week even for the weeks u worked a few days. TWC can audit that stuff and if u dont have proof u did them they can make u pay back benefits

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Lydia Bailey

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I've been keeping detailed records of all my work search activities, so I should be good there. Thanks for the reminder though!

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Omar Fawaz

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Just want to echo what everyone else is saying - definitely keep requesting payments and report everything accurately! I had a similar situation where I worked for just a week between unemployment periods and made the mistake of not reporting it thinking it was "too short to matter." TWC caught it through employer records and I had to go through an overpayment investigation even though I would have been eligible anyway. It was a huge headache that could have been avoided by just being upfront from the start. The system is designed to handle short-term work situations, so don't try to outsmart it - just be honest about your work and earnings on each payment request.

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That's such an important point about the overpayment investigation! I was actually worried about something like that happening if I reported the work "wrong" somehow, but it sounds like the real risk is NOT reporting it. Thanks for sharing your experience - it really helps to hear what can go wrong when you try to game the system instead of just following the rules as they're written.

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As someone who went through this exact situation, I can confirm what everyone is saying - definitely keep requesting payments and report your work accurately! I had a 3-day job that didn't work out and was so confused about what to do. I called TWC and they told me the same thing - report the days worked and earnings on your payment request, and your claim stays active. Even if you don't qualify for that particular week's benefits due to earnings, it doesn't hurt your claim status. The key is being transparent about everything. TWC's system is actually pretty good at handling these temporary work situations as long as you're honest about it. Don't overthink it - just report what happened and keep doing your work searches!

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Zara Rashid

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This is really reassuring to hear from someone who went through the exact same thing! I was definitely overthinking it and worried I'd mess something up, but it sounds like TWC's system is actually designed to handle these short-term work situations pretty well. I feel much more confident now about just being straightforward and reporting everything accurately on my next payment request. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience!

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QuantumQuasar

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I went through this exact scenario about 6 months ago! Worked for 5 days at a place that just wasn't a good fit, and I was so confused about what to do with my TWC claim. The advice everyone's giving here is spot on - keep requesting your payments and report those work days and earnings honestly. When I did my payment request, I just marked the days I worked and put in my gross pay for those days. TWC automatically calculated that I still qualified for partial benefits that week since it was only a few days. The whole process was way less complicated than I thought it would be. Your claim definitely stays open for the full benefit year, so you don't need to worry about losing it over a short stint like this. Just be transparent and you'll be fine!

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Victoria Stark

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Thanks for sharing your experience! It's really helpful to hear from someone who went through the exact same situation. I was definitely stressing about this more than I needed to. Your explanation about how TWC automatically calculated partial benefits for that week makes total sense - I didn't realize the system would handle it that smoothly. This gives me confidence that I'm on the right track with just being honest about everything on my payment requests.

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Paolo Marino

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I'm in a very similar situation right now - worked for about a week at a job that didn't pan out and was totally confused about how to handle my TWC claim. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful! It sounds like the consensus is clear: keep requesting payments, report the work days and earnings accurately, and don't try to overthink it. I was actually leaning toward just stopping my requests because I thought that was the "honest" thing to do, but now I understand that would actually create more problems. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - it's so reassuring to know that TWC's system is designed to handle these temporary work situations and that being transparent is always the best approach.

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