RICHMOND, Va. -- The Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) now allows people to schedule 20-minute phone calls with their representatives to discuss their unemployment claims.
"I think this will alleviate a lot of issues and problems that people have because they need and want to talk to a person," said VEC Communication Manager Joyce Fogg of the new system.
Appointments are offered in six regions around the state and VEC said that appointments are based on permanent residence.
For the Richmond/Petersburg-area there were dozens of appointments available as of Thursday morning, but by the afternoon they were all taken.
Fogg said they will be adding more appointments each day for two weeks out.
Meanwhile, we also asked Fogg about calls CBS 6 has been getting regarding VEC's new identification requirements.
"Right now I'm a little, little upset," Jonathan, a Virginian struggling with his benefits, said.
He said that he's received benefits without issue since November. However, on Tuesday night, he was notified his account had an outstanding issue.
"They said well I need to go, it was an identity issue. I need to go on ID Me," Jonathan said.
Fogg said that this step was a requirement that started on May 25 and asks claimants to upload proof of their identity.
"It's to help prevent identity theft and fraud," Fogg said.
Fogg said that they're rolling out the requirement and not everyone is getting notified immediately. However, when they are notified, they'll have 14 days to complete the needed information.
However, some people have told CBS 6 they only received notification this Monday and had benefits stopped Monday.
Meanwhile, Jonathan said that he was never notified.
"I've checked Gov2Go, it's nothing. I've checked, the emails, there's nothing," Jonathan said.
When asked about these scenarios, Fogg encourages those people to contact the VEC for help.
"We'll help them get that done, you know, we'll try to contact them and help get that done," Fogg said.
