Tag: Megan Healy

Virginia Employment Commission Delays Rollout of New Unemployment Insurance System

Eric Burk

The Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) is delaying the roll out of its new unemployment insurance system intended to help modernize user experience on its website and relieve strain on call centers until the beginning of November. On September 17 the VEC announced that its current system would go offline to allow for the upgrade starting September 29. But a new announcement states that the changeover will occur in late October through early November, the latest delay in a modernization project originally scheduled for completion in 2013.

Read the full story

Virginia Employment Commission Still Overwhelmed by Claims Backlog

Eric Burk

The Virginia Employment Commission is still lagging in processing claims, according to an interim report from the Joint Legislative Audit Review Commission (JLARC) presented to legislators Monday.

“A theme that you will hear in the presentation is that while the agency could not have been expected to be fully prepared to respond to the pandemic, it could have been better prepared,” JLARC Director Hal Greer said. “As you’ll hear, 18 months into the pandemic, the agency is still overwhelmed by backlogs of claims. Its call center continues to under-perform, and the agency is struggling with how to recoup a significant amount of benefit payments that were incorrectly issued.”

Read the full story

Virginia Finance Secretary Expects $500 Million Revenue Surplus, But Is Cautious About Future Effects of Inflation

Eric Burk

Virginia is on track for a revenue surplus of $500 million, according to presentations Secretary of Finance Aubrey Layne gave to legislators in the General Assembly this week. Layne was cautiously optimistic when describing Virginia’s financial situation, saying that many jobs have come back, and the housing market is booming.

“This all adds up to a very good performance for the first ten months of the year,” he said in a Tuesday presentation to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee. “We’re going to have a surplus that’s at least half a billion dollars and I think there’s an upward bias.”

Read the full story

Virginia Employment Commission Lawsuit Reaches Agreement as Gov Northam Orders Faster Claims Processing

Eric Burk

The Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) is facing criticism and a lawsuit over delays while processing unemployment claims flagged as potentially ineligible. On Tuesday, in court-ordered mediation, the parties in the lawsuit came to an agreement. The same day, Governor Ralph Northam announced Executive Directive 16, requiring the VEC to add 300 new adjudication officers and make technology upgrades.

Read the full story