RICHMOND, Va.— The Virginia Employment Commission recently notified almost 17,000 individuals that their unemployment benefit appeals will not be heard unless they can prove by Thursday that they did not file them too late.
The VEC notified 16,656 claimants and 191 employers that their appeals will be dismissed unless they can show they filed their request within 30 days of the initial decision or that they have a legitimate justification for missing the deadline, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.
Thursday is the deadline for responding to the notices of potential dismissal, which were mailed Jan. 26.
VEC Commissioner Carrie Roth told the newspaper the agency developed the initiative to address the current backlog of nearly 93,000 appeals in consultation with the U.S. Department of Labor, which agreed to the plan on Jan. 11. The agency, like others around the country, struggled to keep pace with surging unemployment insurance applications during the pandemic and is still working through related backlogs.
But advocates for the unemployed have raised serious concerns. Marty Wegbreit, director of litigation at the Central Virginia Legal Aid Society, said the move represents “a vast denial of due process of law.”
The Virginia Poverty Law Center advised individuals dealing with the notice to take several steps, including responding to the VEC by the Thursday deadline with proof of the response and including certain documentation.
