Unemployment Benefits in the Great State of the Commonwealth of Virginia

What makes the Commonwealth of Virginia a great state? Firstly, it is the birthplace of the nation's third president, Thomas Jefferson and home not to one presidential estate, but two. The spectacular Monticello is located in Charlottesville, VA, approximately 125 miles southwest of Washington, D.C. The illustrious Mount Vernon, home of George and Martha Washington, is located in Mount Vernon, VA, approximately 16 miles south of the nation's capital. Lastly, the Commonwealth of Virginia is a great state because I live here!!!

The Social Security Act of 1935 created the unemployment insurance system. Unemployment benefits and eligibility requirements are determined by each state (the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands) in accordance with federal guidelines overseen by the Department of Labor. Unemployment benefits are funded by a tax on the employer, not the employee. The tax is determined by each state/jurisdiction.

In the Commonwealth of Virginia, unemployment benefits and eligibility requirements are determined and administered by the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC). The VEC has a straightforward process for filing unemployment benefit claims. Any unemployed person separated from work (the work must be in Virginia) can file a claim for unemployment benefits. Benefit claims can be filed on line at http://www.vec.virginia.gov; or by telephone at 1-866-832-2363. Filing a claim does not mean you are eligible to receive benefits; it is the first step in determining your eligibility.

Eligibility Requirements:

The Virginia Employment Commission determines your monetary entitlement according to the base period. This is probably the most difficult part of the process to understand, I promise it does get easier. The base period is the first four out of the last five completed calendar quarters prior to the effective date of your claim.

An easy way to figure the start date of your base period is to count back one full year plus one calendar quarter from the quarter in which your claim was file. For example, if your claim is filed in the first quarter 2009 (January, February or March) then your base period is October 2007 through September 2008. Count back one full year from the first quarter of 2009, which is January 2008. Then count back one calendar quarter, which is October 2007. The rule is the first four of five completed calendar quarters. Now that you have the start date of October 2007, count the first four out of five calendar quarters, beginning with October 2007, to determine the end date of your base period. So it would be October 2007, March 2008, June 2008, and September 2008. Wages earned between October 2007 and September 2008 determines your weekly benefit amount.

Benefit amounts range from $54.00 per week to $378.00 per week. The maximum number of weeks to receive benefits is 26 and the minimum is 12. After you file your claim you will receive a letter from the VEC detailing the amount of your weekly benefit, your maximum total benefit and how long you can receive benefits.

Employment in the Commonwealth of Virginia is "at will." This means an employer can terminate your employment for any reason or for no reason. The employer is not obligated to pay severance or vacation pay. The Virginia Employment Commission has a clause called, "separation issues." Separation issues are voluntary quits and resignations, and fired and discharged. In short, separation issues are anything other than "lack of work."

At the time you file your claim, you must provide a reason for separation. If your answer is anything other than "lack of work," the VEC will conduct a Fact Finding interview. The Fact Finding interview will be between you, your former employer and a hearing officer. The VEC will send you and your former employer a letter with the date and time for the hearing. The reason for the hearing is to ascertain why you were separated from your job. The criterion is if you were fired/discharged from work, the burden of proof is on the employer to prove "misconduct in connection with work." If you voluntarily quit/resigned, then the burden of proof is on you to prove the separation was "through no fault of your own."

The hearing takes about twenty minutes and a determination of eligibility will be made within a week. Another letter will be sent to both parties with the eligibility decision. Both parties have 30 days from the date of the letter to file an appeal.

The last eligibility hurdle is mandatory sign up with on line job services on the VEC website. This is definitely a hurdle worth jumping. You build your résumé on line, put in your job search preferences and save. It is easy to apply for a job. Simply perform a search according to your employment criteria and use your already saved résumé to apply on line for a job.

Filing Weekly Claim for Benefits:

If you are determined to be eligible to receive unemployment benefits by the VEC, then filing the weekly claim for benefits is straightforward. There is a one-week waiting period that starts when the claim is filed. You will receive credit for that week once you begin to receive benefits.

The VEC will send a PIN (personal identification number) to you by postal mail. Do not lose this PIN; you will need it to file your weekly claim over the Internet and by telephone. You have a choice to receive your benefits direct deposited into your bank account or by debit card. There are fees for the debit card, but direct deposit is free.

The benefit week is from Sunday to midnight Saturday. A new week starts on Sunday - which is the earliest day to file a claim for the previous week. I file my claim on Sunday and the direct deposit is available on Wednesday.

I use the Internet and it takes about five minutes. Login onto your account, enter your PIN, then answer the questions. You must be willing and able to work and are required to look for at least three jobs per week. You need to keep a log of employment contacts because you have to enter this information on a separate screen. Also, the VEC randomly check employment contacts. Finally, you have the opportunity to check your answers and to have a confirmation of the filed claim e-mailed to you. Voilà! You are finished. See, I told you it gets easier.

There was one time the VEC's website went down and I had to use the telephone. Again, this is a five-minute process. Call 1-866-832-2363 and follow the prompts. Voilà! You are finished. The last important thing you need to know is, unemployment benefits are taxable. The VEC gives you a choice to have the taxes subtracted from your benefit amount or not.

A special note about unemployment benefits and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, unemployment benefits increased by $25 per week beginning the week after 28 February 2009. Unfortunately, the Commonwealth of Virginia has not increased benefit amounts because of technical difficulties (software needs to be rewritten). The VEC plans to pay the increased benefit amount and an one-time retro-payment by mid-May.

If you have special circumstances or questions that have not been answered here, please peruse the VEC's website at http://www.vec.virginia.gov.