Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

Childhood Cancer Lantern
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Texas program

Unemployment when hours are cut or a job ends

Unemployment may replace some wages after an employer cuts hours or a qualifying job separation. TWC checks the reason, past wages and whether you can accept suitable work each week.

What it is

Unemployment may replace some wages after an employer cuts hours or a qualifying job separation. TWC checks the reason, past wages and whether you can accept suitable work each week.

Unemployment is money for people who lost work and can take a new job. If you are laid off or your employer cuts your hours, you can usually claim. If you quit to care for your child, Texas can still pay, as long as the illness is confirmed by a doctor, no one else could give the care, and your employer refused reasonable time off. Each week you claim you still have to be able to take a job, which is hard during intensive treatment. Texas has no paid family leave.

Who this can help
  • For a quit to care for your child under 18 to count, a doctor has to confirm the illness, no one else could reasonably give the care, and your employer refused reasonable time off.
  • Hours your employer cut can bring a part payment; hours you chose to drop usually do not. Earnings above the larger of $5 or a quarter of your weekly amount come off the payment. All earnings are reported. Self-employment income does not count toward a claim.
What you get
  • $75–$605 a week under the schedule beginning October 5, 2025.
  • Up to 26 weeks of benefits when wage history and weekly eligibility support them.
What the rules cover
  • The $75 minimum and $605 maximum apply to claims filed from October 5, 2025 under that schedule. The prior October 6, 2024 schedule was $74–$591.
  • Your TWC benefit determination lists the weekly amount for the schedule in effect when your claim begins. The social worker can help you compare that amount with your current earnings; an older published minimum or maximum may not fit a new claim.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask HR about leave options in writing and discuss them with the social worker before deciding about resignation.
  2. Have the oncologist’s letter, leave request and HR’s answer, pay records and care schedule ready.
  3. If you decide to claim, use TWC’s unemployment service and describe who covers care when you can work.

Texas Workforce Commission (TWC): 800-939-6631 · Official page ↗

What happens next
  • The first week is not paid straight away; it can be paid later once you are back at full-time work.
  • A denial letter explains the appeal deadline. The reason matters: TWC may accept the separation but deny a week when you were unavailable.
Good to know

Even when Texas accepts why you left, it pays only for weeks you could take a job. Full-time bedside care usually rules a week out.

Other details
  • Austin, Dallas and San Antonio paid-sick-leave ordinances are not enforceable. Employer-paid leave and federal FMLA are separate conversations.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“My work has changed because of my child's treatment. Would unemployment pay me for the weeks I can work, and can you help me look at leave first?”

Why I’m asking: I need to understand whether I could meet the weekly work test before counting on unemployment.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

Get the oncologist's letter before you resign, document the leave you asked for, file with TWC, and report honestly who covers the bedside so you can accept work.

Your social worker

Helps get the clinician's care certification and compares leave options before you resign.

The care team

Documents the child's serious condition and the caregiving schedule without promising a legal result.

Who decides
Texas Workforce Commission decides the separation and each week's availability
Ask HR
“Before I resign, what leave (FMLA, unpaid, PTO) is available in writing? If I must leave, I will be citing the medically verified illness of my child to TWC.”

How to apply

First step: Before resigning, ask HR for FMLA or unpaid leave in writing. If you must leave, file at twc.texas.gov or 800-939-6631 and state the medically verified illness of your child.

  1. Before resigning, ask HR for FMLA or unpaid leave in writing.
  2. File with TWC the week work ends and state the child's medically verified illness.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: twc.texas.gov or 800-939-6631

What to gather

  • The oncologist's letter
  • Your written leave request and HR's answer
  • Pay records for the last 18 months
  • Who covers care on work days

How long: File promptly when work ends or the employer cuts hours. TWC checks eligibility and the waiting-week rules; payment is not guaranteed immediately after a waiting week.

What a yes looks like

A determination that the separation is not disqualifying and weekly payments while you certify availability.

What a no looks like, and the next move

Ask whether TWC denied the separation or the availability. Appeal within the deadline on the letter (800-939-6631).

Watch out

  • "Able and available" is a separate weekly test: a parent at the bedside every working hour is not available and does not meet that weekly test.
  • The sick-child exception has conditions: no reasonable alternative care was available, and the employer refused a reasonable amount of time off. Ask for leave in writing first so the refusal is on paper.
  • Get the oncologist's letter before you resign and document the leave or schedule you asked for.
  • City paid-sick-leave ordinances (Austin, Dallas, San Antonio) are not enforceable.
  • The latest TWC row checked September 10 starts October 5, 2025: $75–$605 weekly, depending on wages and continuing eligibility. The October 2026 amounts and exact rollover date remain unknown.

If they say no, quote this: Labor Code 207.045(d)(1) and (e): a medically verified illness of a minor child, no reasonable alternative care, employer refused reasonable time off, and the claimant is available for work.

Dates that change this

2025-10-05: The $75 minimum and $605 maximum apply to claims filed on or after October 5, 2025 (TWC table row).

unknown: October 2026 weekly amounts and the exact rollover date were not posted when checked September 10, 2026. Confirm the current TWC row for a later claim; the latest confirmed row starts October 5, 2025. (not yet confirmed against the final rule)

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 10, 2026.

What it is worth

$75–$605 a week for up to 26 weeks when a parent leaves work for the child's medically verified illness and can still accept suitable work.

  • $605/week — Maximum weekly benefit
  • $75/week — Minimum weekly benefit

Legal protection: Leaving work for a medically verified illness of a minor child is not a disqualifying quit when no reasonable alternative care was available, the employer refused a reasonable amount of time off, and you stay available for work (Labor Code 207.045(d)(1), (e))

What it costs the family: None.

The eligibility facts, as published

Separation
medically verified illness of a minor child excuses the quit only if reasonable alternative care was not available and the employer refused a reasonable amount of time off (207.045(e))
Ongoing
able and available for suitable work; work search
Base period wages
yes
Weekly amounts
$75 minimum, $605 maximum for claims filed from 2025-10-05 (prior row 2024-10-06: $74–$591); October 2026 figures not posted at 2026-09-08

The trap: "Able and available" is a separate weekly test: a parent at the bedside every working hour is not available. And the sick-child exception needs two more facts: no reasonable alternative care was available, and the employer refused a reasonable amount of time off.

Where I read this

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