Commission Appeals
Our Mission Statement
The Commission Appeals Department supports the three-member TWC Commission in its role of reviewing appeals of unemployment insurance claims, Texas Labor Code wage claims, and in other agency programs.
Appeal to the Commission
After your hearing at the lower appeal level, you receive a decision from the hearing officer. If you disagree with that decision and file another appeal, your case is reviewed by the three-member Commission of the TWC. At this higher appeal level, the Commissioners review the audio recording of your hearing and all documents in the case file. After the review is complete, the Commissioners meet to decide your case.
In most cases, the Commissioners issue a decision based on this review of the complete record in the case without any further hearing. However, on occasion, the Commissioners will order another hearing to gather more evidence.
Information about further appeal rights is mailed with the Commission decision. You may appeal directly to court or file another appeal with the Commissioners. There is a time limit for filing appeals.
Appealing an Appeal Tribunal Decision
If you wish to request a review by the Commission, you may file an appeal by writing directly to Commission Appeals at:
Texas Workforce Commission
Commission Appeals, Room 678
101 E. 15th Street
Austin, TX 78778-0001
FAX: (512) 475-2044
or you may have an appeal form completed at any local TWC office. Your appeal must be within fourteen (14) days from the date this decision was mailed to you. Please include in your appeal: the claimant's Social Security number, the appeal number, and the date the decision was mailed.
If you did not appeal and offer evidence at the hearing before the Appeal Tribunal, you may request a new hearing if you wish to contest this decision and if you have good cause for your nonappearance. You may file a request by writing directly to Commission Appeals, at the address shown above, or you may have a form completed at any local TWC office. Your appeal must give the reasons why you were not able to appear and must be within fourteen (14) days from the date this decision was mailed to you. Please include in your request: the claimant's Social Security number, the appeal number, and the date the decision was mailed.
If the fourteenth (14) day from the decision mailing date falls on a Texas state holiday, the time limit for filing a request for a new hearing or an appeal will be extended through the next working day. Any request for a new hearing or appeal made prior to the date this decision was mailed will not be treated as a proper and timely request for rehearing or appeal from this decision.
Appealing a Motion for Rehearing Decision
The decision will become final fourteen (14) days after the date of mailing of the decision. The date of mailing is set out at the top of the decision. All mailing dates are shown as month, day and year. Should you disagree with this decision, and wish to pursue the matter further, your ONLY recourse at this point is to file suit. In effect, such suit should be filed from the 15th through the 28th day after this decision was mailed. Further correspondence with the Commission will NOT serve to preserve your rights in this case.
If you do not understand this form or the attached decision of the Commission, you should immediately contact the nearest TWC local office.
Chapter 212 of the Texas Unemployment Compensation Act provides in Subchapter E that a party aggrieved by a final decision of the Commission may obtain judicial review of the decision by bringing an action against the Commission in a court of competent jurisdiction in the county of claimant's residence for a trial de novo review of the decision. Such action must be brought between the 15th and the 28th day after the date of the Commission decision, and each other party to the proceeding before the Commission must be made a defendant in such action. If the claimant is not a Texas resident, such action must be filed in Travis County, or the Texas county where claimant's last employer has its principal place of business, or in the Texas county of claimant's last residence. The petition in such action must state the grounds on which review is sought, and must be served on a member of the Commission or a person designated by the Commission and there must be left with such person as many copies of the petition as there are defendants. This constitutes completed service on all parties, and the Commission immediately shall mail one copy of the petition to each defendant.
NOTE: If you are named as a codefendant along with the TWC, it is important that you file an answer and cooperate with the Attorney General, who will represent the TWC in the civil court proceeding. Your failure to cooperate with the Attorney General and the TWC may result in your case being reversed by the civil court and an overpayment being assessed, if you are a claimant, or your tax account being charged if you are an employer. Also, as the Attorney General can, by law, only represent the TWC it may be necessary for you to hire your own attorney.
Filing a Motion for Rehearing or Appealing to Court
The date of mailing of the decision is set out at the top of the decision. All mailing dates are shown as month, day, and year. If you do not understand this form or the decision of the Commission, you should immediately contact the nearest TWC local office.
You have two methods of appeal available: (1) filing a motion for rehearing with the Commission, or (2) filing a petition for judicial review in a court of competent jurisdiction.
Section 212.153 of the Texas Unemployment Compensation Act provides that this decision will become final fourteen (14) days after the date of mailing thereof, unless within such fourteen (14) days, the appeal is reopened by Commission order or a party to the appeal files a written motion for rehearing.
A Motion for Rehearing must be filed in writing. You may file by mailing it directly to this office at:
Texas Workforce Commission
Commission Appeals, Room 678
101 E. 15th Street
Austin, TX 78778-0001
FAX: (512) 475-2044
or you may file it in person at any local TWC office. The Commission will grant your motion only if it:
- describes specific new evidence that is not in the record,
- states a true, compelling reason why the evidence was not presented at the earlier hearing, and
- explains specifically how the new evidence will change the outcome of the case.
The Commission will grant your motion only if you have shown substantial reasons for granting it. Please include the claimant's social security number and appeal number in your motion.
Chapter 212 of the Texas Unemployment Compensation Act provides in Subchapter E that a party aggrieved by a final decision of the Commission may obtain judicial review of the decision by bringing an action against the Commission in a court of competent jurisdiction in the county of claimant's residence for a trial de novo review of the decision. Such action must be brought between the 15th and the 28th day after the date of the Commission decision, and each other party to the proceeding before the Commission must be made a defendant in such action. If the claimant is not a Texas resident, such action must be filed in Travis County, or the Texas county where claimant's last employer has its principal place of business, or in the Texas county of claimant's last residence. The petition in such action must state the grounds on which review is sought, and must be served on a member of the Commission or a person designated by the Commission and there must be left with such person as many copies of the petition as there are defendants. This constitutes completed service on all parties, and the Commission immediately shall mail one copy of the petition to each defendant.
Frequently Asked Questions
How soon will I receive a decision?
On average, decisions of the Commissioners are mailed 45 to 60 days from the date the appeal is made.
What is a Docket?
Generally, the Commissioners hold a meeting once a week to decide cases on appeal to them. This is called a Docket meeting. Dockets are numbered 1 through 52 to correspond to the 52 weeks in the year. When all Commissioners have reviewed your case and are ready to vote on it, the case will be assigned to a docket. This means your case is scheduled for a vote at a specific upcoming meeting. For example, if your case is assigned to Docket 2, the Commissioners will vote on it at their meeting in the second week of January. A decision will be mailed to you within 5 days.
Will I have another telephone hearing?
Probably not. Normally, the Commissioners issue a decision based on their review of all testimony and evidence previously taken in your case. Only rarely does the Commission order an additional hearing to gather more evidence.
Related Information
If you have questions or comments, please direct them to Commission Appeals via e-mail: comapp@twc.state.tx.us.