Virginia legislative commission backs proposals to improve unemployment claims process

A legislative commission tasked with studying unemployment benefits voted Wednesday to advise the General Assembly to pass two proposals aimed at helping applicants.

One would give the Virginia Employment Commission a three-year statute of limitations for recouping unemployment benefits that were erroneously approved. Current law states the commission can waive erroneous payments after seven years, but does not require it. The potential new statute would not apply to cases that involved fraud.

The other measure would streamline the penalty process for employers who fail to submit responses and documents to the VEC in a timely manner.

Sen. Adam Ebbin, chair of the Commission on Unemployment Compensation, said he would introduce both measures during the upcoming legislative session. But he said anyone with concerns or comments could still reach out.

“There is no better way to get stakeholders to weigh in than to introduce a bill,” said Ebbin, a Democrat from Alexandria. “I look forward to having an open door for anyone from the agency or otherwise who would like to weigh in.”

The Virginia Poverty Law Center proposed both potential bills amid ongoing allegations the state failed to properly support unemployed residents throughout the pandemic.

“We are really grateful (for the endorsements),” said Flannery O’Rourke, policy analyst with law center. “I can’t tell you how many calls I’ve had from folks who are scared and upset. It’s like they’re trapped in the safety net that was supposed to keep them from falling.”

The VEC announced last year that it was working to collect more than $859 million in overpayments made to 366,000 Virginians during the pandemic, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.

VEC Deputy Commissioner Jeff Ryan told the commission Wednesday that additional state funding is helping the agency make progress.

Budget amendments passed in September provided the agency with a $12.3 million boost to improve communication and address its unemployment appeals backlog.

Ryan said the agency has introduced a call-back feature and automation that assists callers with administrative matters that don’t require a human employee. The automation offers 12 language options, an asset for non-native English speakers.

“That has freed up a lot of our staff to work on higher level work,” he said, adding the call center’s average wait time is now under five minutes.

In terms of appeals, Ryan said the agency has completed 118,892 first level appeal dockets since January 2022 — but 44,783 still remain.

“Appeals is the one area where we still have some remaining backlog work to do,” he said.

Ryan told the commission the backlogs are expected to be resolved by the end of the state fiscal year. He said the agency is hiring more examiners to assist, but explained the training process takes time.

Unemployment claims overall are also returning to pre-pandemic levels, Ryan said. More than 1.3 million claims were filed in 2020, compared with 135,064 in 2019. Claims were at 609,772 and 165,937 in 2021 and 2022, respectively. The preliminary count for 2023 stands at 122,997.

The deputy commissioner further updated state efforts to prosecute unemployment fraud. He said Attorney General Jason Miyares has issued 46 indictments and obtained 23 convictions with 12 cases still pending.

Fraud rings popped up nationwide to take advantage of pandemic-related unemployment benefits.

“This system was scammed and taken advantage of repeatedly during the pandemic, hurting our Commonwealth and our fellow Virginians,” Miyares said in a statement last month. “I’m proud of the work my office has done and will continue to do to hold these bad actors accountable.”

The VEC was at the center of a class-action lawsuit in 2021 alleging “gross failures” in providing residents with unemployment benefits. A judge issued an order directing the agency to make various changes and closed the case last year after seeing improvements.

But several legal aid organizations said in July that many claimants continue to face communication barriers with the agency and one of the lengthiest wait times in the nation for an appeal. Some claimants who received benefits were also caught off guard when the agency later informed them it was due to an error and needed to be paid back.

At Wednesday’s meeting, Virginia Beach resident Jonathon Brashears implored the commission to help those who never received the benefits they deserved.

“I just really hope that nobody else has to (go through this),” said Brashears, who explained he faced endless red tape and communication barriers as he struggled for years to receive benefits after being laid off in 2021. “It’s unbelievably frustrating and disheartening.”

Katie King, katie.king@virginiamedia.com