After one year of unemployment in texas i received a letter saying we cannot pay you then said apply for benifits what does that mean? (There is a glitch in the new unemployment extension)

by John
(Texas)

I've been on unemployment since dec 14 08 now on dec 14 09 i received letter saying no benefits. Why does it say this. Do i have to reapply?


Hi John,

Without seeing the letter .. I'll have to venture a guess as to what I think might be happening.

If you've been collecting unemployment for a year .. you've been receiving extension benefits for a while now.

But no matter what .. when one benefit year ends a second benefit year must be established.

Most states have been doing this automatically for people because the extensions extend the benefits based on the WBA of the first claim.

The fact that it took the senate so long to pass the latest extension has created problems. Apparently there was a "deadline glitch" in the bill, when passed.

I'm guessing that what you received is a denial of a claim for a second benefit year. You would normally have to have minimal qualifying wages subsequent to the first claim to qualify for a 2nd year of benefits when there are no extensions.

If I understand the "glitch" correctly, the extension first allowed for 14 weeks of benefits and then 6 additional weeks in states with "high" unemployment .. but the problem is that the first 14 weeks of benefits had to be exhausted by the end of the year to get the rest.

The senate didn't pass the bill in time for this to happen .. there wasn't 14 weeks left in the year.

And it doesn't look like they are even going to discuss fixing the glitch until after the first of next year.

This is just a guess John, but it seems to be happening to a lot of people.

But I'm sure our US senators would like to wish us all Happy Holidays anyway.