Virginia Employment Commission [VEC]
reviews and complaints

I have been unemployed since the before the first week of launch of the new CSS website/system and since its initial date of being up and running I have only been able to access the site ONCE in 6 weeks. ALL of the attempts either before or after that one time have shown the site as being "DOWN FOR MAINTENANCE"

I have also had to make THREE requests for a new PIN to be mailed to me w/none of those requests resulting in a PIN arriving to my mailing address. Why launch the system if it wasnt ready and furthermore why is it taking so long to correct this issue. I am going on almost 2 months now w/out being able to file weekly claims or receive any due compensation!

Been waiting for the deputy to approve benefits since October 29th 2021 because of severance issue. Last company i worked for issue lump sum allocation for last day worked. According to seperation and wage info from company this was paid last day of employment, should have mininize delay in benefits. WHAT'S UP. IF YOU WERE IN OUR PLACE YOU WOULD BE MAD AS HELL.

I received a letter from VEC, dated 8/3/2020, stating that I would receive $600.00 a week from the week ending 04/04/2020 through 07/25/2020 under the Cares Act 2020. To date 12/08/2021, I have not received any of this payment. I have tried many times to contact VEC to get the status of this payment and can never get a direct answer. I am not sure if it was paid and somehow went to another person or if somehow I was determined ineligible. I also filed an appeal not knowing how else to handle this and now see that was the wrong path to take.

I am so disappointed with the VEC Unemployment Office! They owe me money at least 3 months worth, and every time that I call them is a different story! Please help these people bring aboard professionals ! I know a few other people that are out of money, almost out of a home, because of the VEC uncaring attitude. They get people to answer the phones, which that is why they got sued or almost ! I have complained so many times and am fed up with them.

I was laid off on September 29, 2021, I filed my claim on October 5, 2021. I have been told many different things from the VEC as to why I haven't received my benefits. It has been over a month and the only answer from this system is I have to wait for my deputy to decide on my claim. Working citizens should not have to suffer for the mistakes of the government going through this experience has change my thoughts on who should be running the government. If we as working citizens have to go through things like waiting a month or more for the money we have already paid into a system for years why is this system continue to run. I don't think it's right nor is it fair that taxpayers have to be put on trial when we have seen other individuals receive money and receive it promptly.

I've been waiting on 9 weeks worth of unemployment benefits and when I try to contact by email I get ignored. Now that I can finally get in contact with an actual representative they can only tell me that I have no pending issues. I ask when I will be receiving my benefits and all I get is "You're just going to have to play the waiting game." Now, I understand the issues regarding the old system they're using but what I don't understand is why they can't give me what they said they were going to give me. I'm blessed I only have me to worry about because there is no urgency to help me. I understand if I could get a straight answer telling me why or an ETA of my processed payment. I've been waiting for almost 3 weeks now. I've been off my meds for a whole month... Do they not understand that they're peoples life support? I honestly believe they need to give their employees moral training because even though me and all these other people are unemployment doesn't mean we are less of people or not trying to elevate our lives. I don't want to live off unemployment for the rest of my life! But because of this pandemic it is incredibly hard. I've lost family members because of this whole thing so I don't understand why people are taking it so lightly. I've never felt this hopeless in my life and now I'm at the mercy of a bias and inconsiderate organization. I'm disgusted by the VECs representatives, at least the ones I've talked to. A while ago they stopped my payments because of an outstanding issue that did not exist... And when I proved to them that I did everything that was told on time, I received generic responses telling me I have an outstanding issue. Do you understand how frustrating that was for me?Then they came out with this new requirement for verifying your identity with this raggedy website. Id.me. Now when I finally got a hold of a representative on the phone about this I was told that if I could verify my id on that website I could get what is owed to me on that day or the following Wednesday. This website had no option to verify my identification card. The only options where to verify college alumi, nurses, doctors, first responders and students... I do not fall under any of these categories and was so frustrated that I almost mad up something so that I could. But there was no way that would've worked. I even reached out to their support team and I'm still waiting for a response... By this time it was after hours so I emailed the unemployment staff explaining to them the situation but received no response. Now when I called back that following Wednesday I told the representative about it and was told that they "deleted " that requirement resulting in nothing more for me to do. Since then it's been two weeks and I haven't received anything. Not even an email. I know I'm not the only one and I know it's people out there that's doing worse than me but that's no excuse for this abysmal customer service.

my name is Robert Lanham, email [protected]@gmail.com, phone is [protected]. I was found ineligible for regular unemployment but eligible for PUA but my claim was stopped/put on hold do to identity verification and failure to complete document upload. but i have done both, i have uploaded my 2019/2020 w2s/tax refund and verified my identity through id.me as instructed...there should not be any issue. when it comes to eligibility, i care for both my mother and brother who are both handicapped/disabled, my mothe has Lupus and colon cancer and brother has cerebal palsy not to mention i have to homeschool my 13 year old all due to Covid, i lost my job because of this virus and weve all had it, ive had it twice. there should be no issue, i need to fix this asap its getting really hard.

I have been waiting on VEC to review my supporting documents in regards to my unemployment claim so that my benefits would be reinstated. I have complied with all of VEC request and I have had no progress with the VEC. I call and I get the different response to the progress of my claim. My payment stopped in Nov of 2020. Its about to be a full year since my benefits stop. I truly need my money to support my family. I don't think it takes a year to review an id. I need help Bad! Vec isn't help me my issue. I have done all that VEC has require me to do, I cant even get someone to the phone to confirm that the fax of was reviewed. I need help!

I have stated that I am unable to resolve my duplicate account with ID.ME.
I have attempted to open SEVERAL tickets with no resolve with ID.ME to remove the duplicate account, so that I may move forward. They indicate that they are open 7x24 hours, but still my ticket(s) go unresolved. I have attempted to get a Trusted Referee, but the link on the website does not work.

I have gone as far as making a complaint with the BBB.

I find it hard to believe that VEC knows that there are issues with this ID.ME, but continue to use this failed system. I have provided all necessary paperwork for my identification, but without the ID.ME verification I will NEVER get my unemployment.

There has to be another way! I need help and I am not getting it from VEC or ID.ME!

I have cancer and my check was cut off due to double dip. My bye date was Aug 7th, 2021, reapplied as per a letter I received from the vec. Reapplied then got a monetary letter saying I was eligible for 12 weeks, then my checks continued when I filed my weekly claim on Sept 4th, 2021. When I called on the Tues after it said my account has a issue. That's when I found out about the refiling and double dip. So now I don't know when this will be fixed. This is something they should tell you that could happen. I am looking for a job so hard but no luck yet. I am also going thru chemo and I don't have help, so please do whatever you can to help me. My cell number is [protected]. I worked in Virginia.

I suddenly stopped receiving payments I was approved for in April 2021 and never received any letter or explanation of why. I was filing my weekly claims by phone because the option to file was not available on the Gov2Go app, and nobody answered any calls I've tried to make all year long. Also every week I filed my claim it said it was accepted and processing but when I would call again the following week to file a claim, the automated system asked me to file the previous weeks I had already filed. By the end of may it was still asking me to file the claims for April. None of the offices are open, nobody is answering the phone, the Gov2Go app is still not working, and this glitch is still demanding I claim the same weeks over and over.

Not sure if you can help me but I have not received anything in mail saying that my claim is not ok and still not receiving money on my claim. Spoke to a young man that did not know what was going period, he should not have answered the phone. Very disappointed with this system called VEC that we have to work with while we are on unemployment dealing with Covid 19 as well. Someone please help VEC. ! Can not get the Appeal department to answer the phone, and when I call VEC, they say that they will call me back, but never do. What is going on ?

Thank you!

I need help from someone so that I can collect my UI benefits.

I first applied for UI on 5/18/2021. I was laid off from my job on 5/17/2021. I waited for a couple of weeks but I hadn't received my Monetary Determination or PIN so I called the 866 number again. Couldn't get through. Called the 1-800 number, couldn't get through. Called the Alexandria office, couldn't get through. Went to the Alexandria office, it was closed.

On 6/3/21 I finally I called back the 866 number and chose option 1 again and was able to speak with an agent. She said there was nothing on me in their system. So, I don't know what happened but I went through the whole rigamarole again w/ the rep. She (once again) stated I would need to wait for the Monetary Determination and PIN to arrive by mail.

6/18/21 - Waited a couple of weeks and finally got my letters, only to discover that they put all zeros for my base period (Jan 2020 thru Dec 2020). At the bottom of the MD page it said Benefits Denied due to no record of employment for the base period. WTH? I worked all year in 2020 and told the rep this information. In fact, we talked a while about my salary so I couldn't understand why they put zero for my 2020 income. I continued to call VEC (all three phone numbers: main office [protected] - account information [protected] - Alexandria office [protected]) with no luck reaching a live person.

7/2/21 - Finally called the 866 number again and used option #1 for initial claims since it is the only way to reach a live person. I went through the entire 30 minutes of answering all the questions the call rep was asking. At the end of it she told me that I was ineligible because I didn't answer 'yes' to at least one of the hundred questions she had asked me. While it is true that I answered 'no' to all the questions, it was because I was not unemployed due to COVID-19 and all the questions were COVID-19 related. I told her this more than once. I said I was laid off my job but it had nothing to do with COVID. She just sat there. I asked if the only way you can receive UI benefits in Virginia was if you were affected by the pandemic (which I know is not true, I just wanted to put it bluntly to her because that is essentially what she was telling me.) She just repeated the same mantra, "In order to continue with filing this claim for UI benefits, you would need to have answered 'yes' to at least one of the questions. Sigh. After this disastrous call, I tried to fax my W2 and other information to the Alexandria office on but the fax wouldn't go through.

7/27/2021 - After continuing to call all three numbers and getting nowhere, I finally wrote a long letter and included my W2 from 2020 plus a copy of one of my bank statements showing my twice monthly paychecks that were deposited by my former company. I mailed this to the VEC Monetary Determinations Unit in Richmond as indicated on the paperwork that was mailed to me. Waited some more. Nothing came in the mail.

8/19/2021 - Finally called again to the 866 # using option 1 (the only way to actually speak to a live person). I explained the entire history of trying to get my benefits to the call rep. She told me it sounded like the previous rep did not fill out the paperwork correctly. She also assured me that I would receive retroactive pay going back to 5/18. She also told me she was adding notes to my file stating that. I felt pretty good about this latest attempt (which is now my THIRD TIME filing the initial claim). The rep told me that I still needed to wait for my Monetary Determination page but that it would probably arrive much sooner this time around.
Note: My confirmation # for this call is ESA21230152820B56701

8/28/2021 - Finally received my Monetary Determination page in the mail. To my shock and horror, it said the SAME THING AS LAST TIME! They reported ZERO WAGES for my base period, which is INCORRECT! Each time I have tried to file for benefits I have provided my salary information. How does this keep coming up with $0.0 for my wages? I do not understand it. And once again, at the bottom of the MD page, it says Benefits Denied. No record of covered employment in base period. What is going on here? The Deputy that is listed on my paperwork is VEC651. Not sure it that helps or not.
8/29/2021 - I sent an email to the Alexandria office with all the information listed here.

I NEED HELP! I have now been waiting 3.5 months with no money coming in! I have faithfully been keeping track of all my job applications, interviews, etc. I've applied to approximately 40 jobs and have done about ten interviews. I've taken three certification courses, have started two others, and I will be taking my DHS Trusted Tester Certification Exam next week. I've been keeping up with my end of the deal. But WHERE IS THE HELP THAT I NEED FROM THE VEC? A couple of weeks ago I was forced to start dipping into my savings, which is something I don't want to do but I need help paying my bills. I don't have that much so it will vanish in no time and then what? Just become homeless?

WILL SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME? Who can I call to get answers about why VEC keeps listing my wages as $0.00? This is just ludicrous. Is there some other reason I'm getting rejected? If so, what is it?

I contracted covid in Nov, 2020 and was hospitalized w/ double covid pneumonia. I have many continuing health issues from covid, including the need of oxygen, and unable to work. I filed for Unemployment with the VEC in January, 2021. (I am 57 years old, have worked my entire adult life, have worked at my dental office for over 10 years and have never filed for unemployment until this pandemic). I got a denial from the VEC on August 8, 2021, due to being unable to work. I called [protected] & Felicia filed for the PUA for me & said this is for people like me, unable to work due to covid. She said the PUA could see all that was sent in to the VEC (my ID, W2, letter from my Dr, etc) and I should hear something in 7-9 days. I continued to wait & have not heard anything. I finally got hold of Cloudia w/ the VEC, this wk, and she said she did not see where Felicia submitted the form for the PUA! I was shocked because we went through all those questions! I was told to go to GOV2GO & refile. When I do, it tells me to call [protected] and it will not allow me to go any further because I have not filed for traditional insurance unemployment benefits. Then the call is disconnected. I've called the VEC and they said that of course I have filed and received the denial letter, there must be a glitch in the PUA system, but they cannot help me, because they do nothing with the PUA. I'm at a loss! What can be done to help? Please!

Heaven only knows what goes on behind the scenes over these phone lines? Customer service agents are seriously exploiting the consumer privacy of the people they encounter by gossiping & wondering who's name they'll see next. VEC phone #s
[protected]
[protected]
[protected]
[protected]
[protected] Agents who procrastinate sitting behind computers with confidential information laughing & lieing to the Public about being short staffed adjudication & benefit review need to be fired. On monitored and recorded lines Specialist defy the code of ethics as to harassment. Frankly the Commisioner, Senator & Governor should know by now that the bureaucracy behind the massive months of delay stem from poor ethics and lack Cultural Diversity. Watching people crying & demonstrating in the media is becoming a Public Health crisis that sheerly needs to be covered by the World Tribune. I just hope that your organizational management recovers soon before we have to witness another pandemic in Virginia. Human Resources needs to ensure individuals are cleared and trained in verification before giving out information to private class citizens. There are Soka Gakkai members who are willing to playback their calls on the news to show the solicitious and cultural bias being practiced by the VEC. Please stop representatives from calling back Customers with facetious & evasive dialogue. I need solid answers.

Finally received a lump some a few weeks ago for months of backlog, supposedly due to old computer system and VEC being short staffed due to the Pandemic… But I haven't been able to file weekly claims the past 2 weeks, even though my PUA is still active and I have complied with all of their standards, including making weekly work searches… The tab/icon on the Gov2go app isn't there anymore, thus no way to file? 🤷🏻‍♂️

I lost my job while out on short term disability in November 2020 and I filed for unemployment benefits and was denied. I have filed an appeal and still have not heard anything about my appeal. The denial letter I received said I was denied benefits because I was terminated while out on short term disability . I spoke to someone at VEC and they sent me a email with a form for my doctor to fill out and send in certificate of health from my physician in which my physician filled out that I am able and available to work with no restrictions. I t wasn't going to get there in time before I had to appeal the decision and my doctor didn't get it back in time to them by there deadline as I was only given 2 weeks from date of letter to get physician to fill out and fax back and all I know is that I sent it to doctor right away and he did fill it out and faxed it to VEC but it was a day or two late from VEC deadline on letter so I appealed the denial letter and I am still waiting to hear from VEC.

Virginia started sending out $158 minimum Pua Amount to everyone even if the were entitled to more money they sent this out in order to get people benefits quicker but they have yet to go back and adjust my amount which I'm owed over 6grand I have turned in my 2019 W2 form and asked Deborah. [protected]@vec. virginia.gov when the time frame for getting my backpay she responds with "unfortunately there is no time frame I'm afraid it have to go to the Adjustification process" are you kidding me why is everything so prolonged with VEC when it has to do with them giving you money that you've worked for but VEC will take away benefits very quickly without notice.. I just want my thousands of dollars that I'm owed

I have uploaded my forms asked for and then get a letter stating I have not done so. Yesterday I got a text saying I could do it before Sept 4th. When I go to gov2go site. It says enrolled. I have uploaded it twice. and sent a letter of appeal. Waiting for an answer to this issue. I know my wife and I both witnessed it said upload was complete. I have uploaded it twice and still they say they have not gotten it. I cannot figure what is going on and what to do next?

Woody Zember

I have tried and tried and tried to get a hold of Virginia unemployment office to cancel out a fraudulent claim made in my name for almost a year now and when I do get a hold of them I get told the wrong info like one person told me it will cancel out on its own if left inactive for 30-45 days... Then it has taken me 4 months just to get that answer3 months to get told I had to go online to fill a form out... Etc... Now I can't get a hold of them these last 3 months because it's still not cancelled out and I can't get my Texas claim handled until someone gets this done and sends an email thru hub to TWC stating it is canceled out I haven't gotten the pandemic unemployment since last year in March because of this.