How to Prepare for Your Appeal Hearing
We've created a Web site to help you prepare for your appeal hearing that includes:

• How to ask and answer questions
• Tips on witness etiquette
• A sample recorded hearing
• Help on preparing your documents

How Do I File an Appeal?
An appeal is a written disagreement to a determination or decision issued by TWC. The first appeal is a request for a hearing, and you do not need to send any evidence with it. The hearing notice mailed to you will include instructions about submitting documents. You or your employer may appeal a decision about your claim. You must file your signed appeal in writing.  You can get assistance in filing an appeal at your nearest workforce center, or you can write a letter to the Appeals Department at 101 East 15th Street, Austin, TX 78778-0002. Your appeal letter should include the following information:

• Your name and Social Security number
  
  
• Your current address
  
  
• The date TWC mailed you the Determination on Payment
  
  
• A copy of the Determination form, if possible
  

If you or one of your witnesses does not speak English, state on the appeal that you need an interpreter and for which language. Also, if you and/or your witness(es) need to use equipment such as a telephone, speakerphone, or fax machine, please indicate so in your appeal.

You have fourteen days from the date TWC mails you the Determination on Payment to file a timely appeal. The last day for a timely appeal is at the bottom of your Determination form. If the fourteenth day is on a state holiday, we extend the last day. 

Fax your appeal to (512) 475-1135 , or mail to

TWC Appeals Department
101 East 15th Street
Austin, TX 78778-0002 

If you appeal a determination after the fourteenth day, the Appeals Tribunal must decide whether it can hear your case. If the Appeals Tribunal cannot hear the case because it was not on time, TWC will issue that decision in written form and mail it to you.

Continue to request payments every two weeks while you appeal, unless you return to full-time work. Even if the appeal decision is in your favor, TWC can pay you only for weeks for which you filed payment requests and met all other requirements. If you move, be sure to notify TWC of your change of address.

IMPORTANT: If you are using written materials as evidence, you must mail the materials to your hearing officer and the employer so everyone has copies before the hearing begins. TWC mails copies of the information we have to all hearing participants. We mail this information along with the hearing notice. The packet contains the following:

• The date we notified your last employer that you applied for unemployment insurance benefits. (We include this information only if it is relevant to your appeal.)
  
  
• Any protests to your claim
  
  
• Any information we received in response to your claim
  
  
• Any fact-finding statements we took while investigating the issue(s) on appeal
  
  
• The appeal itself (either a letter or an appeal form)

How Does the Appeal Process Work?
There are three appeal levels.

1. The first step is an Appeal to the Appeal Tribunal.
   

You and the employer receive a written notice of the date and time for the hearing. The hearing notice explains the law, and gives instructions for participating in the hearing by telephone. You, the employer, and any witnesses give testimony during the hearing. Be sure to take part in your appeal hearing because the hearing officer makes the decision on your claim based entirely on the evidence given at the appeal hearing. The hearing officer prepares a written decision and mails it to you and the employer.

IMPORTANT: TWC provides access to telephones, speakerphones, and fax machines for individuals involved in an appeal hearing. If you do not have a private phone, need a fax machine to send information, or need a speakerphone to present witnesses' testimony, let us know. If you need help operating the equipment, we can assist you. We try to provide you as much privacy as possible for your hearing.

When you receive the hearing notice and if you and/or your witness(es) need access to any equipment, and you did not request an accommodation in your appeal, please do the following:

• Contact the TWC UI Tele-Center handling your claim
  
  
• Explain that you are scheduled for an appeal hearing
  
  
• Give the specific time and date of your hearing
  
  
• Indicate the specific accommodation you need
  
  

If you cannot participate in the hearing for any reason, call the hearing officer promptly. Usually, hearing officers do not grant postponements. Instead, if you do not participate and the decision is against you, you may request that the case be reopened. Your request to reopen must be in writing, signed, and filed within fourteen days after the date TWC mailed the Appeal Tribunal decision to you. TWC may reopen the case and grant a new hearing if you can show good cause for not participating in the first scheduled hearing.

2. The second step is an Appeal to the Commission.
   

If you disagree with the results from the Appeal Tribunal, you may appeal to the Commission. There is no new hearing because this level of appeal is a review process only. The three commissioners of the Texas Workforce Commission decide your case based on the tape-recorded testimony and other evidence taken at the Appeal Tribunal hearing.

3. If you disagree with the Commission's decision, you have two options.
   
   
1. You may request a rehearing by the Commission within 14 days of the date TWC mailed you the appeals hearing decision. TWC will grant the Motion for Rehearing only if you can show all three of these things:
   
   
1. Important new information about your case
   
   
2. A good reason you didn't present this information earlier
   
   
3. Why you think this information could change the decision
   
   
2. You may appeal to a civil court between 15 and 28 days after the date TWC mailed you the decision. Before appealing to a civil court, you must have completed all the appeal steps available through TWC, except the optional Motion for Rehearing.
   

Unemployment Claim and Appeals Information | UI Information | <<Previous | Next >>