In Texas, you may be eligible for unemployment benefits if you are out of work through no fault of your own. The benefits may hinge on how long you were employed and your wages. Unfortunately, sometimes people who should be eligible for benefits are told that they are not. This can happen when an employer does not properly report what led to the separation or misclassifies an employee as an independent contractor.
If you make a claim with the Texas Workforce Commission for unemployment benefits but are denied, you will have an opportunity to appeal. The deadline to appeal a denial of benefits is very short. You should consult the Dallas unemployment benefits lawyers at Rob Wiley, P.C. right away if your benefits have been denied.
Eligibility for Unemployment BenefitsIf you have separated from your employer and you are no longer doing any job for pay, you can file a claim for unemployment benefits. You are supposed to be paid benefits if you left work through no fault of your own and are eligible for benefits. If you quit, you will have to prove that you quit for good cause connected with the work in order to be awarded benefits. However, if you were fired, the burden of proof is on your former employer. Unless the employer can prove that you were fired for misconduct connected with the work, you should be awarded benefits.
After you file the claim, the Texas Workforce Commission will mail a notice of initial claim to your last employer. Your former employer then has an opportunity to file a written response that indicates that it is a party of interest. This response preserves the employers right to appeal a decision that is not in its favor.
If the Texas Workforce Commission determines that the initial payment of benefits to you was a result of an employer’s inadequate or untimely response, and there is a pattern of this behavior, the employer can be denied the right to appeal. Sufficient responses are those that include sufficient information about any facts about a work specification that might disqualify you from getting benefits. This must be something more than an employer believing that you should not get benefits.
Appeals of DecisionsA decision denying you unemployment benefits may be appealed. An unemployment benefits attorney in the Dallas area can help you with your appeal.
There are different levels of appeal. The first appeal is to the Appeal Tribunal. If the Appeal Tribunal decision is not in your favor, you will have a very short deadline to appeal further to a three-person Commission. Keep in mind, if the decision is in your favor, your former employer will have the right to appeal. When there is a timely appeal, the Commission can affirm, modify, or reverse the Appeal Tribunal decision. A motion for rehearing is the final step of administrative appeals. Again the deadline to file a motion for rehearing is very short. The motion needs to provide new evidence and a compelling reason why it could not be provided earlier. If the Commission denies this motion for rehearing, a written decision that can be appealed to a court will be sent.
Incentive PackagesSometimes employers downsize by offering incentive packages to employees to get them to resign or retire early. They may be trying to reduce layoffs and thereby also limit unemployment claims. However, if you were told by a manager or another authority figure in the workplace that you were set to be laid off, you may be able to get unemployment benefits even though you took the incentive package.
Seek Guidance From an Unemployment Benefits Lawyer in DallasOur firm understands just how important it is to employees who have lost a job to receive unemployment benefits. If you have been denied unemployment benefits, you may be able to appeal the denial. You should consult an experienced employment attorney about your situation. Call us at (214) 528-6500 or complete our online form to set up an appointment.