NORFOLK, Va. — The Virginia Employment Commission reports it's cleared the majority of unemployment claims flagged with issues by May, but the VEC didn't answer how many claims are currently awaiting review - including claims filed this summer that require adjudication or attention.
After a lawsuit settlement in May, a judge ordered the VEC to resolve at least 95% of about 92,000 claims with outstanding issues by Labor Day.
As of Wednesday, a VEC spokesperson said just 2,718 of those outstanding claims needed review. That means the Virginia Employment Commission has resolved close to 90,000 of the claims detailed in the lawsuit since May.
However, that number does not include the claims of Virginians who have reported problems since the settlement.
"They’re giving us the runaround and telling us just wait. I can’t tell my landlord to just wait or Dominion [Energy] to just wait,” said LaTonya Childress, an unemployed pharmacy technician.
Childress said her benefits stopped in June, then she was told to file a new claim and wait two weeks, then told to verify her identity through ID.me and wait a week, then told she's missing documents but they're overdue and she can't upload them to fix her claim, so she needs to appeal and wait for a judgment.
“All we keep hearing is that they’re hiring more people, it’s going to get better, and no, to me it’s getting worse because we’re getting further and further behind," Childress said.
She said it feels like she’s not the priority, and based on the requirements facing the VEC, that could be true. The VEC is required by the lawsuit settlement to fix issues with older claims, add staff members, and update its technology and systems by Labor Day.
When asked how many total unemployment claims are now awaiting review, including ones from this summer, a VEC spokesperson told 13News Now: "It fluctuates."
Childress said she wants answers, payment, and, of course, work.
"I even applied for a job with the VEC, because I said I’m experiencing it firsthand, I would know what people are going through," she said.
She said she's waiting to hear back about her job applications.
Virginia’s new budget proposal on how to use coronavirus relief funds includes about $73 million for "critical upgrades" to the Virginia Employment Commission.