What triggers an unemployment audit with Texas TWC?

The gig earnings did fluctuate pretty significantly week to week. Some weeks I made decent money on deliveries, other weeks almost nothing. Could that inconsistency alone be enough to trigger a flag?

Inconsistent gig income is definitely one of the things that can catch their attention. As long as you reported what you actually earned each week you're in good shape.

Wait so self-employed people report net profit but gig workers report something different? I may have been doing this wrong the whole time and that could be why I got flagged.

For gig work where you're essentially a contractor, you'd report it as net profit - what you actually made after expenses. Regular side jobs where someone pays you as an employee, that's gross. Worth confirming with TWC directly because it matters.

That distinction never occurred to me. I was just reporting the full amount I got paid by the app without subtracting anything. Need to look into this.

Does the former employer get told about the audit or is it just between TWC and the claimant?

The employer already gave their info when TWC first sent them a notice at the start of your claim. The audit is TWC reviewing everything that's already been collected, not a new round of back-and-forth with the employer necessarily.

My old job submitted some stuff that contradicted what I said about my hours being cut. That mismatch definitely seems like it caused my adjudication. These things cascade.

Usually they mail you a determination for each issue they found. If they decide you were overpaid they'll tell you how much and you have to pay it back. If you disagree you can appeal within 14 days of when they mailed the determination.

14 days feels really short. What if the letter gets delayed in the mail?

TWC goes by the date printed at the top of the determination, not when you actually receive it. So if you're worried about timing, appeal as soon as possible after getting any letter from them.

WorkInTexas registration - yes I did do that in my first week. At least that's not the issue for me.

Worth mentioning that how many work search activities you need each week depends on your county. TWC mails you a letter telling you your specific number. Harris County it's five a week which is a lot.

Exactly right - the letter TWC sends you is the number that counts, not whatever someone tells you online. Keep that letter.

The not knowing is genuinely the worst part. The letter gives me nothing to actually respond to or fix.

If the letter asks you to verify something or submit documents, do it fast. If it's just informational saying they're reviewing, sit tight and keep submitting your payment requests on schedule. Don't stop requesting payment just because there's a review happening.

TWC can ask for your work search log at any time and what they're looking for is genuine activity - applying, networking, attending job fairs, that kind of thing. Repeating the same employer week after week when there's no new opening posted there would look odd. Try to mix it up.

okay great that's what I was afraid of. time to actually apply to new places instead of just logging the same ones. thanks

Also keep records of everything - confirmation emails, screenshots of applications, anything. The log is what TWC asks for but actual evidence behind it protects you.

That's genuinely terrifying. The penalty on top of the repayment is what gets me. I've been so careful but reading this makes me want to go back through every payment request I ever submitted.

Going back and reviewing isn't a bad idea. If you spot an error, calling TWC to self-report before they find it themselves tends to go better than waiting.

Does self-reporting actually make a difference in how they treat the case? I'd think they'd treat it the same either way.

From what my cousin's situation showed, yes it seemed to matter. Coming forward vs being caught looks different. But I'd verify that with an actual TWC agent.

Both can happen depending on what they're reviewing. Sometimes they just match records internally and mail you a determination. Other times they send a request for information - usually a letter asking you to submit specific documents within a window of time. If you get one of those, respond before the deadline or they'll make a decision without your side of the story.

And submitting documents, that's through UBS or do they want physical mail?

Their letter will usually tell you how they want it. UBS is generally the fastest way since it's immediate. If they give you a fax option that works too. Mailing is the slowest and riskiest if you're close to a deadline.

So employers can basically challenge your claim even after it's approved? That seems like a lot of power for them to have.

They respond to TWC's initial notice and TWC looks at both sides. If the employer says something that creates a question about eligibility, the adjudication starts. It's not really them 'challenging' you after approval, it's more like the initial review never fully closed.

Mine was definitely a layoff - my whole department got eliminated. Hopefully that's not what's behind my audit but now I'm wondering.

wait seriously?? even if it was their mistake and not yours you still have to pay it back?

Yep. Even if TWC made the error. There's no hardship exception either. That's just how Texas unemployment law works.

That is brutal. I had no idea it worked that way.

The appeal is worth filing if you genuinely think the amount is wrong though. The process is a telephone hearing with a Hearing Officer and you present your documentation. It's worth doing before just accepting a determination you disagree with.

If you kept submitting your payment requests on schedule during the whole adjudication period, those weeks should still be in the queue to be paid once the hold releases. That's why TWC says to keep requesting payment even if you're waiting on a decision.

I did keep submitting so fingers crossed those payments come through. I was told to do that but wasn't sure it actually mattered.

It really does matter. Any week you didn't request payment on time is a week TWC won't pay, regardless of what happens with your eligibility determination.

This is exactly what I was worried about earlier. I've been reporting the gross app payout. I need to call TWC and figure out if I need to correct past payment requests.

Calling to self-report a possible error before they flag it themselves is generally the right move. Have your earnings records ready when you call.

Is correcting past payment requests even possible? Like can you amend them?

That's a question for TWC directly - the process for correcting a past payment request isn't something I'd want to guess at. Definitely call them.

How long did getting through actually take using that service? I've been trying to call for two days straight.

Once I had it set up it took maybe an hour before they connected me. Way better than the five-plus hours I'd been spending just hitting redial.

Oh I genuinely thought those were the same thing. So can someone be in adjudication AND have an audit happening at the same time?

Technically yes, though it's not common. If your original eligibility was unclear and you've also been receiving payments that need to be reviewed, both can be in progress. TWC sends a separate determination for each issue.

This thread is making me realize how complicated this whole system is. I thought you just apply and either get approved or not.

Sunday to Saturday, report in the week the work happened not when you get paid - I actually did not know that. I've been reporting when the deposit hits my account.

Yeah that's the thing that gets a lot of people. The app pays out days or sometimes a week after you do the work and the timing mismatch creates inconsistencies in TWC's system.

This is a really common audit trigger and it's completely fixable. Report what you earned for the work done in that claim week, regardless of when you actually see the money.

What happened to him in the end? Did he have to pay back a week?

He had to repay one week's benefit plus they reviewed his whole claim back a few weeks. Came out okay since everything else was clean but it was stressful.

A full-time job ends eligibility starting on the first day you work there. The start date is the date, not the first day you're on the official schedule or the first payday.

Work search audits do happen. If TWC or a Workforce Solutions office does a routine check and your log looks thin or the activities don't seem like genuine job searching, it can open a review. The number of required activities varies by county and the letter TWC mails you is what sets your specific requirement.

And if they find you didn't meet it for a few weeks, is that an automatic disqualification or do they give you a chance to explain?

TWC will send a determination and you have the 14-day window to appeal it if you disagree. Having your actual work search log with documentation of what you did is your best defense.

Employer vs claimant version mismatch - that's what someone else mentioned earlier as a trigger. I wonder if that's what's going on with mine too. How long did they say the manual review would take?

The agent said to check my UBS account after a couple weeks and to watch for mail. Not a satisfying answer but at least I know to keep submitting payment requests in the meantime.

The manual review timeframe is genuinely unpredictable. Knowing what caused it at least lets you prepare any documentation that might support your version of the separation.

Already kept up with every payment request since this started. The letter said nothing about pausing them so I just kept going. Glad I did.

That's exactly right. The audit notice doesn't freeze your obligation to request payment - those are two completely separate tracks and you have to stay current on the payment request side no matter what.

And if at some point TWC determines you owe something back from this period, having clean documented payment requests at least shows you were engaged properly with the process the whole time.