Automatic Unemployment Payment Request App:desktop_computer: :briefcase:

During the Covid-19 pandemic millions of people were out of work and trying to file for unemployment through the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) website. The site became severely bogged down, usually crashing during one's payment request process. Once the website stopped working, you had to make the dreaded 'phone call' and wait for hours, and that's only if you eventually got through.

I noticed that the site worked a lot better in the middle of the night or during the early hours of the morning; everybody is getting their rest! I created a simple script to automate the process for anyone who didn't want to risk missing one of their bi-weekly payment requests.

I recommend using Windows Task Schedular (or a cron job) to set up a start time in the middle of the night when the site experiences less traffic, you'll have the highest chance of success this way. The workflow below uses Windows Task Schedular.

Notes: The script will automatically pull your two claim weeks and use them to add up the number of job searches you completed for each claim week. See the example .py, yml, and .xlxs files to set things up for yourself. The .py file called, "Payment_Request" is my working file, I included it if you want to see a real-life example. The script will only successfully execute if it is run on the correct payment request day. If the script is executed outside of this day an error message will post in the console telling you which day you were supposed to make a request.

Programming Language(s)

Python was used as the primary programming language. Windows Task Schedular was used to run the Python script every other Tuesday(or whichever day is your official filing day).

Installation

Use the package manager pip to install the packages:

pip install pandas
pip install numpy
pip install selenium
pip install xlrd
pip install PyYAML

Usage

import pandas as pd
import numpy as np
import time
import yaml
import datetime
from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.common.keys import Keys

pd.read_excel('excel.xlsx') # returns data
pd.DataFrame(data) # returns your dataframe
yaml.load(file.yaml) # returns your stored username and password
webdriver.Firefox('path to geckodriver.exe') # starts your browser using geckodriver.exe

Windows Task Scheduler Setup

I found Windows Task Scheduler to be a bit difficult to set up. Here's a quick breakdown of the setup process:

1.) Create a new task in Windows Task Scheduler.

2.) Set your "Triggers". Set this to the day you wantt the script to run and have it run every two weeks.

3.) Set your "Actions". This part is a little tricky.

• Set your action to "Start a program". In "Program/script" navigate to the location where you have Python installed on your computer.
• In "Add arguments" enter the name of your Python script. Mine is called, "Payment_Request".
• In "Start in" enter the location of the folder that holds your Python script. In my case, its the name of the repository folder on my computer.

After you complete the above steps you should be good to go!

Questions?

Send me a message on GitHub (Matthew-Hiebing) or E-mail me at: Matthew.Hiebing@gmail.com