(a) For a claimant who is eligible for regular compensation, including Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) and Unemployment Compensation for Ex-servicemembers (UCX), the following order of payment applies:
  (1) The claimant must first apply for and receive regular compensation. The amount and duration of these benefits are as defined by the Act;
  (2) if the claimant exhausts regular compensation, the claimant may then be eligible to receive PEUC;
  (3) if the claimant exhausts PEUC and the state has "triggered on" to Extended Benefits (EB) under Chapter 209 of the Act, the claimant may then be eligible to receive EB;
  (4) if the State is not "triggered on" to EB or the claimant exhausts EB, the claimant may then be eligible to receive PUA. If the State "triggers on" to EB during the period in which the claimant is collecting PUA and the claimant has not previously exhausted entitlement to EB for the respective benefit year, then the claimant must stop collecting PUA and file for EB; and
  (5) the claimant meets the qualifications to receive Trade Readjustment Allowances (TRA), such benefits will be payable after regular compensation, PEUC, and EB if "triggered on," but prior to PUA.
(b) For a claimant who is not eligible for regular compensation, PEUC, EB, or TRA, and who meets the federal requirements, the claimant may be eligible to collect PUA.
(c) If a claimant is receiving PEUC, EB, or PUA, and becomes eligible for regular compensation, the claimant must stop collecting PEUC, EB, or PUA and file a new claim for regular compensation, with the following exception: For a claimant whose regular compensation benefit year expires after December 27, 2020, if the claimant is entitled to, and has a remaining entitlement to, PEUC with respect to that benefit year, the Agency shall establish a new benefit year, but defer the payment of regular compensation with respect to that new benefit year until exhaustion of all PEUC payable with respect to the prior benefit year if the individual's weekly benefit amount of regular compensation in the new benefit year is at least $25 less than the individual's weekly benefit amount on the PEUC claim.
(d) A claimant who is receiving EB for the week of unemployment that includes December 27, 2020, or the week ending March 13, 2021, shall not be eligible for PEUC until the individual has exhausted all rights to EB.
(e) For weeks of unemployment beginning January 3, 2021, a claimant's eligibility for EB shall be considered to include any week that begins after the individual exhausts all rights to PEUC and that falls during an EB period that began after the date the individual exhausted all rights to PEUC. This applies even if the claimant's benefit year has expired, provided the state is in an EB period as of the date the individual exhausts PEUC.
(f) FPUC provides for additional compensation to a claimant collecting regular compensation, PEUC, PUA, EB, a Shared Work program under Chapter 215 of the Act, TRA, and Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA). Claimants will receive FPUC payments concurrently with payments under these programs.
(g) MEUC provides for additional compensation to a claimant collecting regular compensation, PEUC, EB, a Shared Work program under Chapter 215 of the Act, TRA, and DUA. It does not provide additional compensation to a claimant collecting PUA. Claimants will receive MEUC payments concurrently with payments under these programs.
(h) In operationalizing these requirements, the Agency may further amend the dates in this section in response to federal statute or regulation.

Source Note: The provisions of this §815.181 adopted to be effective October 12, 2020, 45 TexReg 7273; amended to be effective July 19, 2021, 46 TexReg 4372