UPDATE: Judge Hudson directed the parties to file a joint order dismissing Cox v. Hess, which the parties did on January 4, 2022. Read more here. The parties remain committed to the November 2021 benchmarks, and will continue dialogue on ways to make system improvements. If you have questions, go here, and if you need help, go here.
UPDATE: The parties in Cox v. Hess filed a document together in November 2021. The document lists a number of issues the VEC needs to work on. Read more here.
UPDATE: Judge Henry Hudson has ordered the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) to end the unemployment insurance backlog and fix issues at the agency read more here!
Virginia’s unemployment system is still underwater.
Claim delays remain.
Virginians and their families are underwater.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
Unemployment insurance is supposed to be emergency aid. If there’s an issue with someone’s claim, it’s supposed to get figured out quickly.
Some Virginians are still waiting for answers. They applied and now they’re waiting. Often for months. If they can get info, they are told their cases will be decided later. Some folks have been getting benefits in the meantime, but not all.
For most of the pandemic, Virginia has been slower than every other state in the U.S., and slower than D.C., Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, in resolving issues on unemployment claims. In the last three months of 2020, less than 5% of “nonmonetary” issues (like how someone’s job ended) were resolved by Virginia within 21 days. In early 2021, it was less than 3%. Some Virginia workers who lost their jobs in March, April, or May 2020 are still waiting, even now, for issues to be decided on their cases.
Source: State Rankings of Core Measures, U.S. Dep’t of Labor, available at https://oui.doleta.gov/unemploy/ranking.asp
Behind these stats are real Virginians and their families.
They are facing homelessness, food insecurity, and despair.