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Speaker urges Texas Workforce Commission to penalize employers who provide false information in unemployment claims
Summary
A claimant, Torena Shields, told the commission her unemployment claim was denied after her former employer, Houston ISD, reported she left without notice. She urged the commission to review employer submissions and consider penalties when employers submit false or misleading information to TWC.
Torena Shields, a claimant and public commenter, told the Texas Workforce Commission that her unemployment claim, first submitted May 12, 2024, was denied after Houston Independent School District reported she "left the school district without notice." Shields said the district left a critical question blank about whether the employer intended to terminate her employment before she resigned and that omission affected TWC’s decision.
"My claim was denied, leading to what is now a 9 month process of learning much more about your division," Shields said during public comment. She described severe personal consequences, saying she had a vehicle repossessed and a family home in foreclosure while awaiting appeal outcomes.
Shields said a hearing officer continued to side with the district and that she found guidance in the TWC president's manual placing the burden on the initiating party in a discharge. "Had HISD answered the question that, yes, they had plans to terminate my employment, I am left to believe that I would have received an acceptance of my unemployment claim," she said. Shields told commissioners she requested an appeal to the commission on Dec. 27 and was told the case had not yet appeared on the docket because the commission is behind on cases.
Shields asked the commission to "begin to try to review cases to determine if employers are holding up to their end of the bargain and submitting correct information" so that TWC can be fair to all parties. Chairman Daniels and Commissioners Trevino and Esparza were present while Shields spoke.
Shields’s remarks were delivered during the meeting’s public comment period and did not prompt an immediate motion or formal action on the record; she described a pending appeal and requested commission attention to employer reporting practices.
