A day after reporting that Texas employees rejecting a return to suitable work for fear of contracting COVID-19 could lose unemployment benefits, Govenor Abbott announced that the TWC has promulgated rules allowing employees to continue receipt of benefits even if rejecting a return to suitable work. According to the Governor’s press release:
Each unemployment insurance
When Congress was drafting the enhanced unemployment benefits available under the FFCRA some lawmakers opposed the additional $600 per week benefit because it could incentivize workers to remain on unemployment rather than returning to work. As Texas prepares to return to work, those lawmakers concerns are coming to fruition.
There are anecdotal reports that
In a Texas case of first impression, Fort Worth Court of Appeals held that an employee on FMLA leave of absence is not entitled to receipt of state unemployment benefits reversing the Texas Workforce Commission’s administrative decision. In Texas Workforce Commission v. Wichita County, Texas, a county employee applied for state unemployment benefits when
It’s rare for employers state-wide to get good news in this troubled economy. Today, however, the Texas Workforce Commission presented Texas employers with an early Christmas present in the form of the newly released 2012 unemployment tax rates. The tax rates range from .61 to 7.58 percent on the first $9,000 in wages
The Texas Workforce Commission will announce the new 2012 state unemployment tax rates on December 12, 2011. The Commission will also mail each employer its 2012 unemployment tax determinations on that day.
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In Texas, employees and employers are entitled to a telephone hearing before a hearing officer if either party disagrees with an initial determination issued by the Commission in unemployment benefit and Texas Pay Day Act claims. There are some occasions, however, where an employer may consider foregoing these telephone conferences –even if it means losing the unemployment
Most Texas employers handle claims for unemployment compensation in-house (i.e., they don’t use an outside lawyer). A good resource to consult when handling these claims (and for answers to many Texas specific employment-related legal issues generally) is published by the Texas Workforce Commission titled "Especially for Texas Employers". According to its introduction,
Especially for Texas
Texas employees are ineligible for unemployment benefits if the are terminated from employment for "misconduct connected with the work." Misconduct connected with the work includes "mismanagement of a position of employment by action or inaction, neglect that jeopardizes the life or property of another, intentional wrongdoing or malfeasance, intentional violation of a law, or violation of a policy
Senate Bill 314 was enrolled in the Texas Legislature and would exclude, from an employer’s unemployment tax account (i.e., no chargeback), unemployment benefits paid to an employee who left employment because he or she (or their immediate family member) is a victim of sexual assault. Bill text here.
There continues to be a substantial increase in the number of unemployment claims filed by Texas employees. This increase has the potential to raise the unemployment tax rate for employers that do not take proactive steps to manage their Texas unemployment tax rates. The state unemployment tax rate is the only business tax an employer can control.
To understand how to