When a person is fired through no fault of their own, it is a huge psychological blow.  That emotional setback is compounded when the Texas Workforce Commission denies the newly unemployed person’s claim for unemployment benefits, or worse, shows bias toward the employer.  One poor woman worked for a very demanding person.  The male CEO was abusive, demanding his employees work 60, 70 and even 80 hours per week.  "F— you all!"  "I give up!!"  "You all are f—ups!" he would frequently shout to his employees.  Since he was the owner of the small business, the employees had no recourse.  When the woman asked for time off for a brief vacation, the male manager said yes.  At first.  He later rescinded his permission, insisting the nine year employee work all month before taking a break.  

The nine year female employee threatened to quit.  The male manager said she cannot quit, because she was fired – but not until the end of the month.  

In the end, the female employee was fired.  She applied for unemployment benefits.  In the interview, the TWC investigator repeatedly asked questions indicating the investigator believed the male CEO’s story that the woman quit because she could not get those two days off for a brief break.  The TWC officer accepted the supervisor’s story completely.  Now, the nine year employee is appealing her denial of benefits.  I talked previously how TWC seems designed to frustrate employee claims.  See my prior post.  In another post, I talked about how the head of the appeals division at TWC counseled employers on how to "game" the system and avoid paying benefits.  

Nothing, it seems, has changed.