After the hearing is complete, the hearing officer will mail you a written decision. If you disagree with the decision, you can appeal it. Your appeal must be filed within 14 calendar days from the date the decision was mailed to you. The appeal deadline is printed on the coversheet of your decision. The decision will also contain instructions on what you must do to file another appeal. If you file another appeal, what happens next will be determined by your participation in the initial appeal hearing.

If you did not participate in the Appeal hearing and you disagree with the decision, your appeal will be a request to reopen your case at the first appeal level. At the next hearing, you must show that you had a good reason for missing the prior hearing before the hearing officer will reopen your case.

If you participated in the Appeal hearing and you disagree with the decision, your appeal will be to the Commissioners. A reviewing attorney for the three Commissioners of the Texas Workforce Commission will review the tape-recording of your hearing. They will also review all other evidence accepted at your first appeal hearing. The reviewing attorney will make a recommendation to the Commissioners regarding the decision in the case. The Commissioners will review the recommendation separately and will decide whether or not to follow it. Then the Commissioners will vote on the disposition of the case and issue a written decision. They may order an additional hearing to gather more evidence, but they usually do not.

You will be mailed a decision from the Commission. If you disagree with the Commission’s decision, you have two options:

Option 1:
You may request a rehearing within 14 days of the date TWC mailed you the decision. TWC will grant the Motion for Rehearing only if you can show these three things:

• Important new information about your case
• A compelling reason why you did not present this information earlier
• Why you think this information could change the outcome of your case.

Option 2:
You may appeal to a civil court between 15 and 28 days after the date TWC mailed you the decision. You must have completed all the appeal steps available through TWC, except the optional Motion for Rehearing, before appealing to a civil court.

If you ask for a rehearing and the Commissioners deny it, you can still appeal that decision to a civil court. You must file your appeal with the civil court between 15 and 28 days after the date the decision is mailed to you. The instructions for filing this appeal are included with the Commissioners’ decision.

Note: If you win your hearing in front of the Commission and the losing party (i.e., employer) appeals to civil court, it is important that you cooperate with the TWC and the Attorney General, who will represent the TWC in the Civil Court proceeding. Even though you were successful in front of the Commission, failure to fully cooperate with the Attorney General in the civil court process could result in the case being reversed and an overpayment being assessed against you which you will be required to repay. Also, since the Attorney General can, by law, only represent the TWC, it may be necessary for you to hire your own attorney.