Rob's Not Fun Unemployment Journey
Donation protected
Never thought I'd be out of work for over a year. Nor did I think I'd learn just how horrifically antiquated the unemployment system in Texas is.
Some Backstory
After my previous work contract ended at the beginning of 2020 I started the job hunt again. In February I really started considering offering my photography abilities to others. Most of my recent work up till this point had been cosplay or fine art portraits. But I knew I had the skills that would be appreciated by others. I get along well with creative people and that was the audience I was planning on pushing my services to. Even with that I was still applying for a good number of places since there were certainly a number of good jobs out there.
Then, well... *me gestures wildly*
To be candid I was fine for most of 2020. I live a pretty spartan lifestyle as it is so really a lot of what came through the original CARES Act I was able to hold onto a good chunk of it in it's initial run. I knew we weren't going to be able to get through this thing any time soon so that was a good move. I did do a little bit of investment to help keep Make Them Awesome relevant during this time. Plus I also tried to help support my creative friends where I could through their Twitch streams and such. I did try to find work but with everyone dialing things back because of all of the unknowns I didn't have any luck there. But for the time I was fine.
That was up until December.
The Current Situation
To provide a short breakdown of what's happened in the past couple of months (updated Feb. 6th):
1: Regular benefits ran out in early December.
1a: There technically should have been two weeks from the original CARES Act. Just no info if I was auto-moved to that or not.
2: CARES Act extension goes through, get email on Jan 7th that I'll auto-roll into the extension and to continue making payment requests.
3: Attempt payment requests on the 8th and 13th, both times get "Late Payment Request" replies and cannot submit.
4: Called TWC on the 18th, they say wait to see if my status goes back to normal on the 20th.
5: Status does not go back to normal.
6: Call TWC. Turns out that since I did not request a payment for three weeks I was automatically defaulted to 'has gone back to work'.
7: Gave my info to the contractor, but it has to be processed by a 'proper' TWC employee. Contractor couldn't provide turnaround info, but suggested attempting to call first thing in the mornings to see if I could get someone with TWC.
8: Attempt to make a payment request on the 27th and 29th, receive "Late Payment Request" page.
9: Call TWC, speak with a contractor. They state a TWC employee has to handle the case. They try to put me through to them.
10: Phone system attempts to connect, but after 20 minutes stops and says to call back later. Automatically ends the call.
11: I email the TWC Customer Relations and Omsbudsman email addresses that are available on the site in an attempt to get help that way. Both emails submit callback requests but nothing more.
11: Benefits system allows me to submit payment requests on Feb. 3rd. Able to submit benefits all the way back to early December which was right after my regular benefits ended.
12: Receive notification on Feb. 4th that no money will be deposited.
13: Currently attempting to contact (Feb. 5th) TWC to speak with a TWC employee to get this fixed. Spoke with one contractor who also stated that my issue had to be handled by a TWC employee. They also submitted a callback request.
14: Get a suggestion to contact my local State Representatives. Get responses from both of them asking for more info to pass along to their specific contacts at TWC.
To a point I get why this happened. Since old DOS BBS systems have probably had more recent updates than this TWC is probably almost coding everything on the fly. Though why they're now flagging anyone who hasn't made payment requests in three weeks as 'back to work' is beyond me. They didn't do that with the gap into rolling everyone into the CARES Act. And the original expiration was known well in advance. The last TWC contractor I spoke with understood the situation and was able to get me re-submitted. But they only have really limited power and info. And right now trying to speak with an actual TWC employee would be like pulling teeth.
So I'm basically stuck in a system that was just not equipped to handle anything like this.
How You Can Help
I really set this up to help cover the gaps until TWC can get me under the correct status to where I can get unemployment benefits again. TWC has confirmed that I do have available UI balance because of the recent CARES Act extension. It's just a matter of updating me to be able to access it. The issue is I have no clue yet how long it will take for that to happen. Given the more recent unemployment numbers it's even more of an unknown.
As for the $1,000 goal you see here... it's honestly an arbitrary number. I was trying to think what goal to set for this and GFM was all like "Hey, most campaigns set their goal for 1K" so I just went with it.
Hopefully TWC gets it's act together sooner rather than later. That's genuinely the reason I'm asking for help is because of the factors completely outside of my control. If things get sorted then the current CARES Act extension will certainly help. And hopefully some of the suggested additions to that get adopted as well. I'd prefer to have a decent job that doesn't involve risking my life and provides some decent benefits. But barring that being able to get through this weird timeline and being able to do what we can with MTA will be fine for now.
I never thought I'd be in a moment like this. But then again did any of us expect this?
Some Backstory
After my previous work contract ended at the beginning of 2020 I started the job hunt again. In February I really started considering offering my photography abilities to others. Most of my recent work up till this point had been cosplay or fine art portraits. But I knew I had the skills that would be appreciated by others. I get along well with creative people and that was the audience I was planning on pushing my services to. Even with that I was still applying for a good number of places since there were certainly a number of good jobs out there.
Then, well... *me gestures wildly*
To be candid I was fine for most of 2020. I live a pretty spartan lifestyle as it is so really a lot of what came through the original CARES Act I was able to hold onto a good chunk of it in it's initial run. I knew we weren't going to be able to get through this thing any time soon so that was a good move. I did do a little bit of investment to help keep Make Them Awesome relevant during this time. Plus I also tried to help support my creative friends where I could through their Twitch streams and such. I did try to find work but with everyone dialing things back because of all of the unknowns I didn't have any luck there. But for the time I was fine.
That was up until December.
The Current Situation
To provide a short breakdown of what's happened in the past couple of months (updated Feb. 6th):
1: Regular benefits ran out in early December.
1a: There technically should have been two weeks from the original CARES Act. Just no info if I was auto-moved to that or not.
2: CARES Act extension goes through, get email on Jan 7th that I'll auto-roll into the extension and to continue making payment requests.
3: Attempt payment requests on the 8th and 13th, both times get "Late Payment Request" replies and cannot submit.
4: Called TWC on the 18th, they say wait to see if my status goes back to normal on the 20th.
5: Status does not go back to normal.
6: Call TWC. Turns out that since I did not request a payment for three weeks I was automatically defaulted to 'has gone back to work'.
7: Gave my info to the contractor, but it has to be processed by a 'proper' TWC employee. Contractor couldn't provide turnaround info, but suggested attempting to call first thing in the mornings to see if I could get someone with TWC.
8: Attempt to make a payment request on the 27th and 29th, receive "Late Payment Request" page.
9: Call TWC, speak with a contractor. They state a TWC employee has to handle the case. They try to put me through to them.
10: Phone system attempts to connect, but after 20 minutes stops and says to call back later. Automatically ends the call.
11: I email the TWC Customer Relations and Omsbudsman email addresses that are available on the site in an attempt to get help that way. Both emails submit callback requests but nothing more.
11: Benefits system allows me to submit payment requests on Feb. 3rd. Able to submit benefits all the way back to early December which was right after my regular benefits ended.
12: Receive notification on Feb. 4th that no money will be deposited.
13: Currently attempting to contact (Feb. 5th) TWC to speak with a TWC employee to get this fixed. Spoke with one contractor who also stated that my issue had to be handled by a TWC employee. They also submitted a callback request.
14: Get a suggestion to contact my local State Representatives. Get responses from both of them asking for more info to pass along to their specific contacts at TWC.
To a point I get why this happened. Since old DOS BBS systems have probably had more recent updates than this TWC is probably almost coding everything on the fly. Though why they're now flagging anyone who hasn't made payment requests in three weeks as 'back to work' is beyond me. They didn't do that with the gap into rolling everyone into the CARES Act. And the original expiration was known well in advance. The last TWC contractor I spoke with understood the situation and was able to get me re-submitted. But they only have really limited power and info. And right now trying to speak with an actual TWC employee would be like pulling teeth.
So I'm basically stuck in a system that was just not equipped to handle anything like this.
How You Can Help
I really set this up to help cover the gaps until TWC can get me under the correct status to where I can get unemployment benefits again. TWC has confirmed that I do have available UI balance because of the recent CARES Act extension. It's just a matter of updating me to be able to access it. The issue is I have no clue yet how long it will take for that to happen. Given the more recent unemployment numbers it's even more of an unknown.
As for the $1,000 goal you see here... it's honestly an arbitrary number. I was trying to think what goal to set for this and GFM was all like "Hey, most campaigns set their goal for 1K" so I just went with it.
Hopefully TWC gets it's act together sooner rather than later. That's genuinely the reason I'm asking for help is because of the factors completely outside of my control. If things get sorted then the current CARES Act extension will certainly help. And hopefully some of the suggested additions to that get adopted as well. I'd prefer to have a decent job that doesn't involve risking my life and provides some decent benefits. But barring that being able to get through this weird timeline and being able to do what we can with MTA will be fine for now.
I never thought I'd be in a moment like this. But then again did any of us expect this?
Organizer
Robert Swackhamer
Organizer
Round Rock, TX