Will you get unemployment if you get fired from your job in Texas TWC?

That's a relief to hear. The 'performance issues' reason they gave me is so vague. I never had a formal disciplinary process or anything.

TWC's list of what counts as misconduct is stuff like breaking company rules, neglecting the job on purpose, failing to do work you're capable of doing, things along those lines. 'Performance issues' as a vague label doesn't automatically land in that category. What matters is what actually happened.

My employer also just said 'performance' when I got let go last year. TWC ended up approving me because there was nothing documented. The 14 days after they mail the employer notice matters a lot - that's when the employer gets to respond and explain their side.

Does that mean if the employer doesn't respond in those 14 days they just decide in your favor? My job hasn't said anything as far as I can tell.

Not exactly - TWC makes a decision based on whatever information they have. If the employer doesn't respond, TWC goes with what you told them when you applied. That can work in your favor if your account of events is solid.

This is accurate. The whole point is TWC tries to get both sides. No response from an employer doesn't mean automatic approval but it definitely doesn't hurt.

My biggest fear is it going to a hearing and not knowing what to bring. What kind of documentation did the agent say you'd need?

For a firing case the agent said keep anything that shows your work record - emails from supervisors, any performance reviews even old good ones, messages about the incident they're claiming was misconduct, proof you weren't warned. Basically build a timeline.

Knowing about Claimyr would have saved me so much stress two months ago. Going to try it this week to ask about my adjudication status.

How long did your whole process take from filing to that first payment?

About five weeks total from my filing date to first payment hitting my ReliaCard. The determination came around week four and then the first payment followed pretty quickly after.

Five weeks sounds about right. Mine was similar. The first payment only covers one week though - that surprised me. It's not like you get five weeks of back pay at once.

That distinction actually makes a lot of sense the way you put it. I was doing my job, the numbers just weren't where they wanted them I guess.

There's a difference between being bad at something and willfully neglecting it. TWC understands that. The first might be a problem for your employer but it's not necessarily disqualifying for unemployment.

Agreed. I work in HR at a mid-sized company and honestly a lot of terminations for 'performance' don't meet the bar for unemployment misconduct because there's no showing that the person was deliberately slacking or breaking rules.

I've been doing that - submitting on time every payment period. Glad I didn't pause on that waiting for the determination.

This is the thing that trips people up the most. They think 'why request if I'm not approved yet' and then they win and find out they missed weeks. Keep requesting no matter what.

You can do it in UBS at https://apps.twc.texas.gov/UBS/security/logon.do or on Tele-Serv at 800-558-8321. Even if your status shows under review, the payment request option should still be available.

That actually helps reframe it. I read 'potential issue' and assumed the worst.

The language on those letters is scary but it's standard. Any fired case goes through that review. It's the cases where someone quits that get automatically flagged worse because quitting is presumed to be your choice.

Exactly. Fired cases at least start from the place of 'something happened to this person' rather than 'this person chose to leave.

They pay back to the weeks you requested on time. So if you were diligent about every payment request during the wait, those weeks get processed once you're approved. That's exactly why submitting on time matters so much.

Okay that's a relief. I've submitted every two weeks since I applied so fingers crossed I'm covered.

There's also a waiting week thing - TWC holds your first payable week until you've been paid twice your weekly amount AND either return to full-time work or use all your benefits. It's not lost, just held. Had to look that up myself.

My manager said something similar and it had me really worried. Good to know the standard is different.

This is such an important point. HR departments use 'for cause' loosely and claimants assume it's a death sentence for their unemployment claim. TWC has a specific meaning for misconduct and company policy labels don't override it.

Right. And even things that fall under 'neglecting the job' have to be intentional, not just making mistakes. TWC isn't there to punish people for being imperfect workers.

I've been logging everything. I'm in Tarrant County so I have five activities required per week. That letter showed up early and was pretty clear about it.

Five a week is the number for the big counties. Keep that log even when it feels tedious because if TWC audits your work search and you can't show it, that becomes a whole separate problem even if your original firing case was resolved.

This is what I didn't know my first time filing years ago. Lost benefits over a work search audit because I couldn't prove my activities. Never again.

Mine was lower than I guessed too. Four years at the warehouse but I did take some unpaid leave in the spring so I assume that hurt one of my quarters.

Unpaid leave in a quarter would reduce that quarter's wages which could lower your weekly amount if it was your highest quarter. Worth asking TWC if you think the calculation is off.

Had the same question about my amount. The base period goes back further than people think - it's not just the last few months. For a claim filed now it goes back to wages from last year.

I had no idea about the Thursday to Saturday window. I've been submitting on Monday to be safe but good to know there's a little buffer.

Monday is a great habit. The grace window is there for emergencies not as the plan. Some people cut it really close and stress themselves out unnecessarily.

You can file through Tele-Serv too if UBS is giving you trouble on a deadline week. 800-558-8321, option 1 handles payment requests.

I only have one issue flagged so far - the job separation. Hoping that's all they find.

Job separation is the big one for a fired case. If that comes back in your favor you should be in good shape assuming the rest of your claim is clean.

Used the service I mentioned earlier to ask TWC specifically how many issues were on my claim. The agent confirmed it was just the one and that reduced a lot of my anxiety honestly.

That tracks with what others have said. Feels like a small advantage going in.

It's not guaranteed obviously but the bar is definitely different. An employer has to come forward with something solid to deny a fired claimant. For a quit case the claimant has to do more of the explaining.

Exactly - and quitting 'for personal reasons' like transportation problems or wanting to stay home doesn't qualify at all. Good cause for quitting has to be work-related, something that made staying genuinely impossible.

Good luck with your hearing. What should someone expect at that phone hearing if it comes to that?

It's a phone call with a Hearing Officer who listens to both sides. They usually mail the hearing packet a few weeks before with instructions. You register your phone number to be available 15 to 60 minutes before the scheduled time. The written decision comes within a couple weeks after.

Keep requesting payment on time throughout the whole appeal process. TWC can only pay weeks you requested on schedule - the appeal doesn't pause that clock or catch you up on missed requests.

When I applied I described it as a sudden termination with a vague performance reason given, no prior documentation. That's accurate. Hope that account holds up.

That sounds like a solid honest account. Consistency matters - if TWC comes back with questions or if it goes to a hearing, sticking to the same factual account you gave at filing is important.

My employer responded to TWC with a whole different story than what I experienced. Having any emails or texts that contradict their version of events saved me. Screen shot everything before you lose access to work accounts.

Appreciate you sticking around to help people in this. The waiting is genuinely rough.

The not-knowing phase is the worst part. Once a determination comes in one way or another you at least know what you're dealing with.

Using claimyr.com to call TWC while waiting actually helped me feel less powerless. Getting real answers from an agent about where my claim stood made the wait more bearable even before the official letter came.

Good to know. I've been checking my bank account obsessively so hearing there's a predictable timeline helps.

The ReliaCard comes in the mail within about 10 business days after that first payment. You can also set up direct deposit if you prefer that to the card.

Direct deposit is my preference just for simplicity. You can set it up in UBS once your claim is processing payments.

I didn't know the in-person option existed for appeals. That's good to know if the online option ever isn't working.

Fax and mail work too for appeal submissions. Just has to be in writing within those 14 days. Email doesn't count though - TWC won't accept an appeal by email.

The 14 days runs from the date printed at the top of the determination letter, not the date you receive it. So if the letter took a few days to reach you, that eats into your window. Open those letters and act fast.

Unsafe conditions are actually one of the situations TWC acknowledges. The key is being able to document that the conditions were genuinely unsafe and that you tried to address it before it escalated. That's very different from just refusing work you didn't want to do.

If your employer frames it as insubordination but you can show you were raising a legitimate safety concern with documentation, TWC looks at the substance not the label. Keep anything you have that shows you flagged the safety issue - emails, texts, incident reports.

I actually sent an email to my supervisor about the safety issue before this happened. Didn't know that might matter but I'm definitely keeping it now.