When you get fired can you collect unemployment in Texas TWC?

That's genuinely the first useful thing I've heard since this happened. So the fact that they wrote 'performance' on the paperwork doesn't automatically kill my claim?

Right, and TWC reaches out to your old employer to get their version too. Whatever they tell TWC becomes part of the picture. The 'moving in a different direction' comment from your supervisor is interesting because that sounds more like a business decision than misconduct.

I wish I had saved that voicemail from my supervisor. I only have the HR paperwork which uses the word performance everywhere.

Adjudication scared me too on my claim last year. Mine took about three weeks to clear. Just keep checking UBS daily since they update overnight.

How often does adjudication actually end in denial vs approval? Like is there any way to know which way it's leaning?

Honestly there's no way to read it from the outside. TWC doesn't give you a progress update, just the final determination letter when it's done.

The suspense of adjudication is brutal. I checked UBS like four times a day during mine even though I knew it only updates once at night.

My claim just went into adjudication yesterday so the timing on this is perfect. Did you need to have your claim number ready when the agent picked up?

I've been trying to reach someone about a similar situation and the hold times have been impossible. Might give that a try.

The employer response window matters a lot here. TWC gives them 14 days to reply to the notice they send out after you file.

Wait, I've been holding off on requesting payment because I figured there was no point until adjudication finished. I should go do that right now?

Yes, do it immediately. The request dates are on the instructions letter TWC mailed you after you applied. Don't wait another day on this.

This is the part that gets so many people. They assume a pending claim means payments are paused. The requests and the determination run on separate tracks.

Just submitted my payment request. I had no idea these were on a separate schedule. Really glad I caught this.

How strict is strict? Like if I apply to three jobs instead of the required number one week, is that automatic disqualification?

Falling short in a given week means you might not be paid for that week. It's not a one-strike you're out situation for the whole claim, but it does affect individual weeks. The number varies by county, Harris, Dallas, Bexar, Tarrant and Travis all require five activities a week.

I'm in Harris County so five a week. That's more than I expected honestly.

Four weeks is a long time to wait but hearing it turned out okay helps. Did they contact you at all during those four weeks or just radio silence until the letter?

Complete radio silence until the letter showed up. I called twice and both times got disconnected before reaching anyone. The letter just appeared one day.

The disconnect problem is so real. I've spent probably four hours total on hold across multiple attempts and reached an actual agent maybe once.

This framing really helps. So my job is basically to explain my side accurately and let TWC weigh it, not to try to spin anything.

Exactly. Be straightforward and specific about what happened. If the new manager created unrealistic targets or changed expectations without proper training, say that plainly.

The honest account approach really does seem to work better than trying to game the narrative. TWC asks very specific questions and inconsistency stands out.

I'd heard that poor performance can never be misconduct no matter what. Is that actually right?

Not quite. The honest answer is that if someone completely ignores their job duties when they know what's expected and are capable of doing it, that can cross into misconduct territory. It's not a hard rule that performance can never count. The question is whether there was genuine effort or deliberate neglect.

My situation was definitely not deliberate anything. I was struggling with the new manager's style and expectations but I was showing up every day and trying.

So that first week is never actually paid out until way later? That seems like a lot to hold.

Right, it comes at the end basically. If you exhaust your benefits you get it then. If you go back to full-time work before that you can request it through UBS or Tele-Serv.

That's a weird system but at least it's not lost forever, just delayed.

I used Claimyr to get through to someone at TWC last week. Needed to verify that my employer's response had come in and ask a question about how earnings from a side gig I had during my last week should be reported. The agent walked me through exactly how to handle it.

That's genuinely useful. The uncertainty about how to report different income types is real and not always clear from the website.

The side gig question is relevant to me too actually. I did a couple days of delivery driving the week before I filed.

Good to know. It was just two days worth, maybe $180 net. So I report that and it reduces my benefit amount for that week?

Depending on your weekly benefit amount it might reduce it or might not. If what you earned was under 25 percent of your weekly amount there's no reduction. Above that threshold the overage gets subtracted from your payment for that week.

The 25 percent rule is easy to miss. A lot of people think any earnings just wipe out that week entirely and don't bother reporting small amounts. That's the wrong call.

I honestly thought adjudication was what you go through after you lose an appeal. Good to know I had that backwards.

Totally common mix-up. Adjudication is earlier in the process, appeal comes after the determination letter.

I was using them interchangeably in my head too. So right now I'm in adjudication waiting for a determination, and if I don't like that determination I'd then have 14 days to file an appeal in writing.

That's exactly right. The 14 days runs from the date printed at the top of the determination letter, not from when you receive it, so read that carefully.

How long does an appeal typically take? Like are we talking weeks or months?

The hearing packet alone can take six to eight weeks to arrive after you file the appeal. Then it gets mailed to you five to ten days before the actual hearing date. So yes, it can stretch out. Keep making your payment requests throughout the whole process regardless of where the appeal stands.

The keep requesting payments rule during appeals is one of those things that isn't obvious at all. People stop because they think there's no point. But if you win the appeal and you haven't been requesting, those weeks are gone.

This is making me want to gather every document I still have access to. I should probably do that before my work email access gets cut off.

Yes do it immediately. Work emails, any performance documents you have copies of, messages from your manager. Once your access is gone it's gone.

Screenshots of anything in writing from that new manager would be particularly useful given the situation described. The pattern of a new manager and sudden performance issues is exactly the kind of context that matters.

That's helpful context. My earnings were pretty consistent across those quarters so I think I have a decent idea what to expect if I'm approved.

The max is $619 a week right now for new claims. And the total you can collect is capped at either 26 times your weekly amount or 27 percent of your total base period wages, whichever is less.

The 26 week cap is worth noting. That's the standard limit and Texas doesn't extend it based on the state unemployment rate unless it crosses a pretty high threshold that it isn't near right now.

Your cousin has that wrong. TWC makes its own independent determination based on what both sides tell it. The employer saying 'for cause' doesn't end the inquiry, it starts it. TWC looks at whether the actual reason meets the definition of misconduct. Many people get approved after their employer contests their claim.

That's a relief. My cousin went through this years ago and had a bad experience so I think he just assumes the worst.

Bad experiences from even a few years ago don't always reflect how the process works now. The online systems have changed a fair amount and the claims process is more documented than it used to be.

I didn't get any severance so that particular issue isn't mine, but good to know it has to be reported. I wouldn't have thought to ask about it.

Honestly that call cleared up three different questions I'd been sitting on. Having an actual person answer beats refreshing the TWC website.

This whole thread has been really reassuring. Going in I thought getting fired meant automatic disqualification and now I understand it's a lot more nuanced than that.

Keep making your payment requests, keep your work search log current, gather your documentation, and wait for the determination. You're doing the right things.

The documentation point can't be overstated. Even if you don't end up needing it for adjudication you'd want it if an appeal becomes necessary.

I had no idea about the card mailing timeline. That's actually important to plan around.

You can also set up direct deposit instead of using the card if you'd rather have it go straight to your bank account. That option is in UBS.

Direct deposit is faster in my experience and you don't have to worry about where the card is. Worth switching if you haven't already.