RICHMOND, Va. - Governor Glenn Youngkin announced Monday a nearly 89% decrease in the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) backlog.
This announcement comes after months of complaints from Virginians. News 3 has reported on issues at the VEC in recent months. A Hampton manspoke with News 3 about his difficulties in filing claims.
On Youngkin's first day of office, he signed Executive Order Number Five that requests the newly appointed Chief Transformation Officer conduct a review of the Department of Motor Vehicles and Virginia Employment Commission.
According to Youngkin's administration, VEC’s Executive Team and agency staff focused on eliminating remaining backlogs and improving service and communications at the agency. As of January 15, the backlog of employment separation reports has been reduced by nearly 89% from 246,273 to 27,728 and unpaid pending claims have been reduced from 24,887 to 15,846.
“Virginians deserve an unemployment insurance system that is responsive, efficient and customer focused,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin. “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.”
Officials say reducing backlogs is a critical first step to fixing VEC processes.
“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.
For questions about unemployment claims, visit the VEC website here, email VEC at customerservice@vec.virginia.gov or call 866-832-2363 between the hours of 8:15 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
