Virginia Unemployment Extension
There’s good news for those individuals that are unemployed in Virginia and that have exhausted their unemployment benefits; a Virginia unemployment extension is available. In a press release dated June 30, 2008, Joyce G Fogg from the Virginia Employment Commission announced that President George Bush had signed into law the H.R. 2642, which gives eligible unemployed workers thirteen more weeks of emergency unemployment benefits; the emergency compensation started on July 6, 2008. The Virginia unemployment extension is offered as a way for the unemployed to continue to meet financial obligations while they seek work.
A second press release issued in February of 2009 also announced that additional funding is being supplied to the state via the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The stimulus funds supplied to the state are now being used to offer the unemployed that are receiving benefits an additional $25 each week beginning February 28. Additional Virginia unemployment extension funds were also supplied which allows the Virginia Employment Commission to supply additional emergency compensation funds to those that are eligible. The VEC contacts eligible individuals by mail to let them know of their eligibility for a Virginia unemployment extension.
If applying for Virginia unemployment compensation for the first time, or for those individuals that would like to reopen a claim, unemployment claims can be processed electronically at:
http://www.vec.virginia.gov/vecportal/unins/insunemp.cfm.
Claimants can also use the phone service supplied by the Virginia Unemployment Commission by calling 1-866-832-2363, or they can use TTY services at 1-800-828-1120. If the claimant resided outside Virginia, or was employed outside state boundaries, unless the claimant resided or worked in Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, the District of Columbia, Canada, or Guam, the claimant must file in the state where he or she worked or resided. Telephone listings are offered for claim filing outside Virginia, and a complete list of phone numbers and website urls is provided at the following link:
http://www.vec.virginia.gov/vecportal/unins/phone.cfm.