Virginia Unemployment Benefits Class Action Lawsuit Overview:
- Who: The Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) and a class of residents filed an order to end a lawsuit brought against the agency.
- Why: Residents claim the VEC failed to adjudicate jobless claim disputes in a timely manner so they could receive unemployment benefits.
- Where: The order to end the lawsuit was filed in Virginia federal court.
The Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) has reached an agreement with residents to resolve claims that the agency failed to settle jobless disputes related to unemployment benefits in a timely fashion.
Five Virginia residents filed a class action lawsuit against VEC Commissioner Ellen Marie Hess in April, claiming the agency ignored their complaints after they struggled getting unemployment benefits they say they were owed.
Residents claimed the VEC would also be quick to place benefits on hold while, at the same time, failing to quickly resolve the disputed jobless claims.
Per the proposed order, the VEC will be required to resolve at least 95% of 92,518 claims that are currently awaiting adjudication as of May 10, WRIC reports.
VEC Argued Unsuccessfully It Resolved Claims A Month Before They Were Due
The VEC had argued unsuccessfully that it resolved those claims a month before they were due; however, its subsequent request for dismissal was denied by a judge who agreed with residents’ claims that the backlog was in fact growing.
The agency ultimately agreed to, by Nov. 19 of last year, resolve at least 95% of the jobless dispute claims awaiting adjudication as of May 10 and through Oct. 15, WRIC reports.
Residents and the VEC will continue to work together and pass along information to get to a point where the court will no longer have to be involved, according to the proposed order.
In September, Virginia’s watchdog agency released a report finding that the VEC was not as prepared as it could have been to handle “unprecedented demand” the COVID-19 pandemic brough on the agency.
A similar class action lawsuit was filed in May 2020 by Florida residents who claimed the state’s unemployment website was non-functioning.
Are you a Virginia resident who was unable to get unemployment benefits owed to you in a timely manner? Let us know in the comments!
The plaintiffs are represented by the Legal Aid Justice Center, the Virginia Poverty Law Center, Legal Aid Works, Consumer Litigation Associates and Kelly Guzzo, PLC.
The Virginia Unemployment Benefits Class Action Lawsuit is Ashley Cox et al. v. Ellen M. Hess, Case No. 3:21-cv-00253, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
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17 thoughts onVirginia Residents Reach Agreement With VEC To Resolve Claims Agency Stalled In Helping Them Get Unemployment
I filed for the Pandemic Unemployment because I was on my last unemployment check when it all started. I got a pin# in the mail, but nothing else, and tried to get through on the phone, but was never successful at all. Never heard anything again after that.
There are so many parts of my story involving attempts to receive my benefits since September 2021. Many similar or exactly like others have mentioned here. I have been hung up while “transferring my call” multiple times a day. Many times it was pointed out that i “must be from NY”,followed by a side remark which shortly led to being up on after i asked what difference did it make.
I have been fighting to get my claim paid out for THREE YEARS now! Every time I am told the issues have been resolved and payment will be sent out now…they try to find another hoop for me to jump through. I’ve been told they overpaid me when the claim has never even been paid out to start with, I’ve verified my identity seven times, and now I was sent a letter saying I need to appeal something but wasn’t told what and I can’t log into my account online because it’s been saying they can’t verify my identity online for over a year now! My power has been cut off on my special needs son and I 3 times , my car broke down over a year ago and I still don’t have the money to fix it. I’ve lost everything so when will someone help us get what’s owed to us??
January 2023 and still have not received benefits or resolve my issue. Something need to be done!!!!!
I been waiting for benefits as well since August 2022 still have not received anything. Was told over and over they have everything they need victim of fraud. Still patiently waiting no response all I get is I have pending issues on my account with fraud that needs to be resolved as well as discharged papers have not been received by previous employer. Mine you that was almost 5 months ago and I have bills that need to be paided and it’s like they don’t care. All I’m asking is for my funds to be released to me I been calling everyday for months still no luck. Please help me as well