Unemployment Compensation

Summer break, employee contracts, and substitute teachers are just a handful of reasons schools have unique unemployment compensation needs. The Fund meets those needs with services that protect your organization and control financial risks and fraud.

How School Districts Are Different

Employers cover the cost of unemployment benefits one of two ways: taxes or reimbursement. School districts have reimbursing accounts, which means the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) pays benefits on your behalf and bills your district for reimbursement.

We offer two Unemployment Compensation funding options to fit members’ unique needs:

• Pool members pay an annual contribution and file quarterly wage reports with the Fund. We pay quarterly claim reimbursements to the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) on our members’ behalf. This arrangement caps liability and promotes ease and stability of budget projections. 
• Administrative Services Only members pay an annual management fee for all Unemployment Compensation services, and they are responsible for paying their claim reimbursements to the TWC.

Online wage reporting system helps you comply with TWC deadlines, avoid costly penalties, and reduce errors.

About Unemployment Compensation

Unemployment compensation is a heavily regulated system that provides temporary, partial income replacement for qualified people who are unemployed or partially unemployed (working part time) through no fault of their own. School employees with unemployment compensation program responsibilities should understand the system’s basic framework:

• The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) administers the unemployment benefit program with U.S. Department of Labor oversight.
• The Texas Unemployment Compensation Act and other state and federal laws and regulations govern the Unemployment Tax program.
• Eligible claimants can generally collect benefits for up to 26 weeks.
• Organizations typically must respond to TWC notices within 14 calendar days from the date they were mailed. Otherwise, they could lose their right to appeal the claim.
• Letters of reasonable assurance protect schools from claims filed by contract employees during summer and other scheduled breaks.