Special Circumstances

If You Change Your Address

Tell TWC right away if you change your mailing address because:

• We give your new address to Chase Bank, which sends you the TWC UI Visa debit card and debit-card account information.
• The U.S. Postal Service does not forward some TWC documents that require a response. If you do not respond on time, you might not receive benefits.
• We mail other important benefit and appeal documents, as well as IRS forms, to the address we have on record, so please keep it current!

Change your address online at Unemployment Benefits Services. After you log on, select Contact information or call a TWC Tele-Center to speak with a customer service representative.

If You Receive an Overpayment

You are legally responsible for any benefits we pay you. If TWC pays you benefits and later learns that you were not eligible, you must pay back those benefits.

If you are overpaid benefits, TWC mails a Determination on Payment of Unemployment Benefits form that tells you why you have an overpayment, what weeks were overpaid, and the amount you need to repay. You must pay back the money immediately. If you cannot pay back the overpayment right away, ask TWC if you can set up an installment payment plan. There are two important reasons why you should repay any overpayment of benefits:

• An overpayment stays on your account until you have repaid it. If you do not repay an overpayment and need UI benefits again in the future, all of your benefits payments will go towards the overpayment instead of to you until the overpayment is repaid in full.
• TWC has the authority to file suit against you in a civil court to recover the money.

To repay your overpayment, mail a check or money order payable to the Texas Workforce Commission to the following address:

TWC Revenue & Trust Management
PO Box 149352
Austin, TX 78714-9352
(Please include your Social Security Number on the payment.)

NOTE: Under the Interstate Reciprocal Overpayment Agreement, if you have an overpayment in another state, TWC will apply your Texas benefits to the overpayment. Likewise, if you have an overpayment in Texas and you later receive UI benefits from another state, we can ask that state to recover the overpayment for TWC.

Should I Tell TWC if I Received Separation Pay?

Yes. Tell TWC about separation pay or any wages you received instead of notice of layoff. You may not be eligible for benefits during the period covered by those wages. Call a TWC Tele-Center to talk to a customer service representative to get more information. For more information, read How Additional Pay Affects Your Benefits.

If You Receive a Retirement Pension

If you receive a pension based on your former work, we will mail you a written decision on whether it is deductible. If it is deductible, we will deduct the weekly amount dollar for dollar from your UI benefits. Here are the rules about pensions:

1. Social Security benefits and Railroad Retirement are not deductible.
2. Pensions, retirement pay, annuities, and other similar periodic payments are deductible if based on wages earned from a base period employer. A pension from an employer that did not pay you wages during the base period is not deductible.

If You Receive Workers' Compensation or Disability Insurance

If you receive Workers' Compensation, you may not be eligible for UI benefits. TWC will make that decision based on what type of disability payment you receive.

• If you receive Impairment Income Benefits, you may receive UI benefits. If you receive some kinds of Temporary Income Benefits, Supplement Income Benefits, or Lifetime Income Benefits, TWC cannot pay you UI benefits.
• If you have a permanent disability and receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), you may be eligible for UI benefits even if you work part time.

If You Are Not a United States Citizen

If you are not a citizen of the United States, we verify your Alien Registration number with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS). If CIS cannot confirm your registration number, we ask you for copies of your documents and TWC sends them to CIS. If CIS indicates that you do not have permission to work in the United States, we cannot pay you UI benefits.

TWC also checks whether you had legal authorization to work when you earned your base period wages. TWC cannot establish your claim using wages earned before you had authorization to work. If TWC removes any wages from your claim, you will receive a new Statement of Benefits.

If You Served in the Military

You can use base period military wages to establish your claim if you separated under at least honorable conditions and completed your first full term of service. If you did not complete your first full term of service, you must have separated early for a reason specified by Congress as an exception to the full term requirement. Reservists and members of the National Guard may be eligible if they served at least 90 days continuous active service and received a Form DD-214 when separated.

TWC calculates military wages by using the information on your pay grade at the time of separation. TWC may need a copy of the Member 4 version DD-214 to add your wages. We cannot use the Member 1 version (the short version) because it does not have all the required facts.

If you don't have your copy of the DD-214, we will try to get a copy for you. It may take up to two months for the military to respond to that request. We cannot pay you benefits based on your military wages without a DD-214.

If the information on your DD-214 prevents us from using your military wages, you can appeal to your branch of service to change the DD-214 information. You use a Department of Defense DD Form 149, Request for Correction of Military Records, to request this change. You can obtain that form from the nearest Workforce Solutions office or a veterans' service office. If you appeal to the military, keep filing your claim certifications if you remain out of work. If you have questions about a military appeal, ask your branch of service.

If You Worked for the Federal Government

Most people who have worked for the federal government can use their federal wages to establish a claim. The federal government does not report wages to the states each quarter as other employers do, so TWC requests wage information from your former federal employer by mail. You can begin your claim with a documented estimate of your wages until the agency replies. Other rules are the same as for regular UI benefits.

If you give us an estimate of your federal wages, TWC needs proof of your federal employment before adding the estimated wages to your claim. The most common proof is a Standard Form SF-50, Notice of Personnel Action, or equivalent. A W-2 form or pay stub is also acceptable. Proof should have your name, Social Security Number, the employing agency name, and clearly indicate you were an employee. You cannot use Standard Form SF-8 as proof because it doesn't have any personal identification. The wage estimate requires your signature and a copy of the proof of federal employment.

We cannot use some types of federal work to establish a claim. If you worked under contract and received an IRS 1099 instead of a W-2, you may not be able to use those wages on your claim. The federal agency tells us whether the work you did was "federal civilian employment" for claim purposes. If you disagree with the information, we will request that agency to reconsider their findings about your wages and/or separation reason. If you disagree with their reconsidered report, you can file an appeal. The TWC hearing officer can make an independent ruling on your wages and reason for separation.

If You Worked for a School

If you work for a school or educational institution and file a claim during a holiday break or between school terms, you may not be able to draw UI benefits based on your school wages. If you have reasonable assurance of going back to work when school starts again, TWC cannot use any school wages, even from a different school, to establish your claim. Reasonable assurance does not have to be in writing. You probably have reasonable assurance if you and your employer expect you to go back to work when school starts again. If the school does not put you back to work when school starts, we will reconsider your school wages in setting your benefit amount.

How Do I Stop My Claim When I Get a Full-Time Job?

Stop requesting payment when you return to work. If you return to work between payment periods, you may be eligible for a partial payment. Report your earnings during your last payment request. Report your wages during the week you earned them, not when you receive them.

Can I Still Get Benefits After I Return to Full-Time Work?

No. We can pay you only if you are unemployed, meet all of the requirements for benefits, are able and available for work, and are actively seeking full-time work.

Can I Apply for Extended Benefits?

Yes. The federal government approved an extension of unemployment benefits. Benefit extensions are available only to totally or partially unemployed persons who:

• Are eligible for benefits and used all their regular unemployment benefits, and
• Are not eligible for benefits from any other unemployment compensation programs, including those in other states.

TWC will notify you by mail if you are potentially eligible for a benefits extension. IMPORTANT: Make sure TWC has your current mailing address. You can change your address on Claim and Payment Status by selecting My Contact Information, or by calling a TWC Tele-Center. If you are filing a UI claim in another state, contact that state for the status of your claim.

Learn more about current benefits extensions (PDF)

If You Have Wages in More Than One State

If you worked in more than one state during your base period, you can combine all of your wages in a single UI benefits claim. One state is the "paying state" and your claim follows the rules of that state. The paying state asks the other states to transfer your wage credits to the paying state. Because you filed a claim against Texas, Texas is your paying state unless you don't have enough wages to qualify under Texas law. Your other choice is to file against only one state using only the wages in that state. If you choose to use only wages in one state, your claim will follow the rules of that state. View unemployment benefits information concerning work in another state (PDF).

If You Worked in Texas But Live in Another State

If you earned all your base period wages in Texas but now live in another state, you can still file a new application for UI benefits or continue an existing claim with Texas. Texas pays the benefits and makes the decisions about payment. You must register for work with the nearest workforce center in the state where you live.

You can file for UI benefits from any of the United States, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, or Canada. Texas law does not permit claims from any foreign country other than Canada.

If You Lost Your Job Because of Foreign Trade

If you lost your job because of increased foreign imports or shifts in production to foreign countries, you may be eligible for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA). You should ask your local Workforce Solutions office staff about eligibility for TAA as soon as possible because there are time limits on eligibility, training, and benefits. TAA benefits may include retraining, Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC), job search and relocation allowances, and weekly benefits called a Trade Readjustment Allowance (TRA). If eligible, you may request TRA benefit payments only after you receive all of your regular unemployment insurance benefits in a benefit year.

Once you meet the eligibility for TAA benefits, you may be eligible for the Health Coverage Tax Credit. HCTC is a federal tax credit that pays 65% of the qualified health insurance premiums paid by eligible individuals. As noted above, it is important to ask about your TAA eligibility right away, because time limits on training and benefits apply. Start your training quickly to finish as much training as you can while you still have benefits to help pay living expenses. Depending on the date a Trade petition is filed, the maximum benefit you can receive under these programs and regular unemployment combined is 78-104 weeks. If you need remedial training, your TRA benefits might be extended up to an additional 26 weeks.

Designation of "trade affected" status requires U.S. Department of Labor certification of a petition filed by the former employer, group of affected workers, or Workforce Solutions office staff. Your local Workforce Solutions office can tell you whether your company is certified to provide you with petition forms.

Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance (ATAA) is a program for trade affected workers age 50 or older covered by a Trade petition that has been certified as ATAA eligible. This program became effective with Trade petitions filed after August 6, 2003. Affected workers may have an option for a wage subsidy if they find a job within 26 weeks of their job separation. Please contact your local Workforce Solutions office for eligibility information.

If Your Employer Has a Shared Work Program

Texas employers can participate in a Shared Work program to keep their workforce together. They share the work among workers rather than laying off workers. Participating workers may receive partial UI benefits based on their reduced hours. If TWC has approved a plan for your employer, your employer will help you file your claim.

To receive Shared Work benefits, you must accept any work that your Shared Work employer has for you. You do not have to look for or accept work with any other employer or register for work with TWC. If your work hours are reduced less than 10% or more than 40% for any week, you will not be eligible for Shared Work benefits.  To file a claim for regular UI benefits, contact a Tele-Center; all of the rules for regular UI benefits will apply.

If You Are Involved in a Labor Dispute

If you stop work because of a labor dispute, you may not draw UI benefits while the labor dispute continues. The Act requires a disqualification for any week in which you or your class of workers participates in, finances, or is directly interested in the labor dispute. This does not apply to a "lock-out" where the workers are willing to work but the employer won't let them. The disqualification for a labor dispute continues until you no longer have any part in the dispute. It does not matter if you are a member of a labor union. It is not possible to requalify for benefits by working elsewhere. A labor dispute disqualification continues until one of the following happens:

• The dispute settles and you report to the employer to go back to work. We do not automatically close labor dispute disqualifications when the labor dispute ends, because you must report back to work.
• You make an "unconditional offer" to return to work during the labor dispute, even if it involves crossing a picket line. If the employer does not put you back to work, you are no longer involved in the labor dispute.
• If you formally resign during the labor dispute, we can end your disqualification for the labor dispute but we may have to disqualify you for quitting your last work without good cause.