The Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) backlog has been reduced by nearly 89 percent, according to a Monday statement by the governor’s office. The embattled agency was targeted by the incoming administration’s “day one game plan” as a critical example of Youngkin’s commitment to “put the government back to work for Virginians.”
“Virginians deserve an unemployment insurance system that is responsive, efficient, and customer focused,” Governor Youngkin said in a statement. “On day one, my administration launched the VEC transformation effort with an initial focus on reducing the backlog, and we are starting to see encouraging initial results. We have a lot more work to do, but I want Virginians to know we are serious about making the VEC, along with all other state agencies, work for them.”
Secretary of Labor Bryan Slater, Chief Transformation Officer Eric Moeller, and VEC Commissioner Carrie Roth launched Governor Youngkin’s transformation initiatives at the VEC immediately upon taking office. The VEC’s executive team and agency staff “focused on eliminating remaining backlogs and improving service and communications at the agency,” according to the press release.
“There is a tremendous amount of work to be done to refocus on our customers, the individuals and employers, and get them the resources they need. As an initial step, our team is hyper-focused on tackling the remaining backlogs, doubling down on training and building a world-class employment services agency. This focus is already starting to pay off,” said Virginia Employment Commissioner Carrie Roth.
Since January 15th, the backlog of employment separation reports have been reduced by nearly 89% from 246,273 to 27,728 and unpaid pending claims have been reduced from 24,887 to 15,846, the press release notes.
“Eliminating backlogs is job number one,” Secretary of Labor Bryan Slater said in a statement. “We will spare no resource to get this work completed for Virginians who deserve an answer about their unemployment claim. I am proud of our team and their resolve to see this through.”
Chief Transformation Officer Eric Moeller also released a statement on the matter, saying, “Reducing backlogs is the critical first step as we fix VEC processes to help struggling Virginians that have been affected during the pandemic. We have started the process of transforming the Commission and begun delivering results for the Commonwealth.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Glenn Youngkin” by Glenn Youngkin.
