Every separation gets classified twice: once by the employer, casually, in a hurry — and once by an agency, carefully, in hindsight. When the two don't match, the employer loses. The 'quit' that was really a resignation-in-lieu-of-termination, the 'layoff' followed by a job posting, the 'abandonment' with no contact attempts: each is a routine separation converted into evidence.
This worksheet classifies the separation once, correctly, while the facts are fresh: the exact words used, a five-category selector tied to what the facts must show, a pressure test for constructive discharge and resignation-under-threat, and a consequences table connecting the classification to Texas final-pay deadlines and unemployment outcomes.
Who should use this decision worksheet
- HR teams processing separations of every type
- Payroll administrators who need the right final-pay deadline
- Owners tempted to 'just call it a resignation'
- Anyone preparing a TWC claim response after the fact
What it helps prevent
- Final-pay deadline violations from misclassified separations
- Unemployment responses that contradict the personnel file
- 'Resignations' that were really constructive discharges
- Job abandonment labels applied to protected absences
- Classification drift — the story changing between payroll, TWC, and the EEOC
What’s inside
- Part 1 — Separation Snapshot
- Part 2 — Classification Selector
- Part 3 — Facts Supporting the Classification
- Part 4 — Pressure Test
- Part 5 — Consequences of the Classification
- Part 6 — Classification Record
Before you process payroll, terminate, classify, deduct, or respond to a claim, get the decision reviewed.
Faulkner HR Solutions helps Texas employers, nonprofits, municipalities, and growing businesses fix the people systems behind recurring workplace problems. If this resource raised a risk flag, do not guess your way through the next step.