Court settlement sets path for VEC to resolve more than 92,000 claims for unemployment benefits – By Michael Martz (Richmond Times-Dispatch) / May 25 2021
A federal court settlement gives the Virginia Employment Commission until Labor Day to resolve the questions and claims of nearly all of the 92,000 unemployed Virginians who have been waiting for jobless benefits during the pandemic and the economic crisis it caused.
U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson signed the court order on Tuesday to settle a federal lawsuit that five Virginia women filed against the VEC, alleging that the state agency had denied them the benefits and a timely explanation they are due under the law.
“Both parties acknowledge that the adjudication of unemployment claims is a vital public service, even more so during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has inflicted economic hardships on countless Virginians,” the settlement order states.
The order directs the VEC to resume unemployment claims for the five plaintiffs — Ashley Cox, Emily Dimond, Penny Williams, Amber Dimmerling and Lenita Gibson — and pay all back benefits by Friday, unless they are “deemed ineligible” through a formal process for adjudicating disputes.
