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If you are working but your employer reduced your hours, you may be eligible for benefits.
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For example, the employer has no more work available, has eliminated your position, or has closed the business. Layoffs are due to lack of work, not your work performance, so you may be eligible for benefits. Examples include layoff, reduction in hours or wages not related to misconduct, being fired for reasons other than misconduct, or quitting with good cause related to work. To be eligible for benefits based on your job separation, you must be either unemployed or working reduced hours through no fault of your own. This may require employment and wage history.
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The effective date is the Sunday of the week in which you apply. We do not use the quarter in which you file or the quarter before that we use the one-year period before those two quarters. Your base period is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before the effective date of your initial claim. If you worked in more than one state, see If You Earned Wages in More than One State. We use the taxable wages, earned in Texas, your employer(s) have reported paying you during your base period to calculate your benefits. Your past wages are one of the eligibility requirements and the basis of your potential unemployment benefit amounts. You must meet all requirements in each of these three areas to qualify for unemployment benefits. TWC evaluates your unemployment benefits claim based on:
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