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The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) announced that state unemployment insurance (UI) benefits paid as the result of COVID-19 will not be charged against employer accounts. (News release, $2 Trillion Federal Stimulus Package to Fund Array of Benefits for Texas Workers, Employers, April 1, 2020.)

Employers should carefully review future benefit-chargeback statements (Notice of Maximum Potential Chargeback) to be sure that they are not being charged for COVID-19 UI benefits and, if the notice shows erroneous charges, file a protest within the 30-day time limit shown on the notice. (Telephone conversation, TWC tax department representative, 4-3-2020; email response to inquiry, legal department representative, 4-8-2020.)

The new release states:

We encourage employers who have had to lay off their employees to file one mass claim on behalf of all impacted workers, reducing traffic to our site and making the claims process easier,"said TWC Commissioner Representing Employers Aaron Demerson. "In addition, there will be no chargeback to any Texas employersfor claims filed due to COVID-19.

We requested guidance from the TWC's legal department and received the following responses by email:

Q: Is the employer non-charge-back automatic or must employers request it?

A: Employers that receive notices of claims should timely respond to those notices. If the reason for the job separation is related to COVID-19, the employer's account is not supposed to be charged. It is important that employers respond timely in order to be able to have appeal rights in case the employer receives a determination that states the employer will be charged.

Q: Will employees filing for non-medical reasons, such as an employer shut down or slow down for COVID-19, be eligible for UI benefits? Does the noncharging-provision apply to employees ordered to isolate because they came in contact with a potentially infected person (presumed COVID-19, but no test results yet)?

A: Employees filing claims due to an employer shut down are presumably out of work through no fault of their own, so would qualify for unemployment benefits. For employees who were ordered to isolate by a medical provider, theanswer is trickier. While employees may be out of work through no fault of their own, the fact that they are not medically able to work may render them ineligible to receive benefits until they return to a status of being medically able to work.

Note that at the time of this alert, the TWC's frequently asked questions (FAQs) for employers on COVID-19 was as follows:

Q: Is there any way an employer can avoid the cost of unemployment benefits?

A: An employer may be eligible for protection from chargebacks from UI benefits if the evidence shows that the work separation was for medical reasons. However, if the reason for the work separation was merely a cautionary period of time off to minimize potential exposure of others to someone who might be infected, but might not be, chargeback protection would most likely not be extended to the employer. To minimize the chance of unemployment claims being filed, the employer can encourage employees to work from home if the job is such that remote work is possible. Proper recording of work time is necessary, and the employer would need to work with the employees to set up a timekeeping system that functions well and takes all time worked into account.

TWC to waive one-week waiting period and work search requirements for workers filing COVID-19 UI benefit claims

The TWC's COVID-19 webpage for workers states that although the Texas legislature has not changed any UI laws or rules concerning UI benefits filings during the COVID-19 pandemic, the TWC will waive work search requirements and the waiting week for those UI benefit

claimants affected by COVID-19.

See the TWC's website for more information for employers regarding the Department's response to COVID-19.

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