Changes to Texas Unemployment Laws
During COVID-19 Pandemic

March 25, 2020

• Employers can use the Employer Benefits Services (EBS) portal to submit a Mass Claim Request to streamline the unemployment benefits claims process if faced with a business shutdown or temporary or permanent layoffs
  • More information about Mass Claims is available here
  • Employers who are new to EBS will need to create an EBS Administrator account when they first log on 
  • Employers are encouraged to sign up for Electronic Correspondence so they can receive communications online 
• Employers who have already laid off employees cannot use EBS to submit a Mass Claim
  • Employers who have 10 or more employees affected by the pandemic should e-mail the Mass Claims Coordinator at ui.massclaims@twc.state.tx.us and ask for Mass Claims documents to submit manually 
  • E-mails must include the employer’s name, address, phone, and fax number, and TX Workforce Comm’n Tax Account Number; a contact person’s name (authorized representative with signature authority) and e-mail address, phone and fax numbers; and the layoff date and the number of employees affected
• Employers can use EBS to submit a Shared Work Plan and find out how to avoid laying off workers by reducing the hours of some employees, who can also receive partial unemployment benefit payments
  • More information about Shared Work is available here
• Employers can also call 866-274-1722
• Employers must continue to report employee wages and pay unemployment taxes
• Employers’ responses to a Notice of Application for Unemployment Benefits should include information about how their businesses have been impacted by the coronavirus
  • Employers can respond online using the Unemployment Insurance Employer Response portal
• When former employees are eligible for unemployment benefits, affected employers will continue receiving Notices of Maximum Potential Chargeback and will continue to be billed for benefits paid 
  • Employer tax accounts may be protected from chargebacks because Governor Greg Abbott has declared a disaster relating to the pandemic
• Employers must communicate their attendance policies to their staff and should consider creating a flexible plan to manage any need to change sick leave policy to cover staffing during the pandemic and to handle attendance issues