In 2021, the Virginia Employment Commission was under scrutiny due to overpayments of unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Senate Finance & Appropriations Committee approved the Senate Bill 536, proposed by Sen. Lamont Bagby, to waive the repayment of excess unemployment benefits for Virginians who were mistakenly overpaid. This bill along with House Bill 1261, proposed by Del. Kathy Tran, aim to reestablish a provision of the state law that had expired in July 2022. The two bills are expected to waive over $3.6 million in yearly overpayments.

The bills would also give authority to the Virginia Employment Commission to waive overpayments since the beginning of the pandemic. However, these waivers would only be possible if recipients received the overpayments by no fault of their own and were unable to repay without sacrificing essential needs. The Senate committee suggested that this revived program should terminate on July 1, 2028.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s spokesperson, Christian Martinez, did not mention whether or not the governor would sign the legislation, instead stating that reforming the Virginia Employment Commission has been a priority for the governor.

Previous legislation related to unemployment benefits has also been approved, including Senate Bill 382, which stops collection of overpayment if five years have passed since the overpayment, or if the recipient has died or declared bankruptcy. Other bills are in consideration to improve Virginia’s unemployment system at the front end to avoid overpayments in the future.

However, the situation remains tense as almost 45,000 Virginians are still waiting on resolution of their appeals, following the mishandling of the overpayments.

To learn about the progression of these bills and to understand what steps Virginians should take, citizens can reach out to the Virginia Employment Commission. Anyone with questions regarding their unemployment status should consider contacting the commission’s customer service for more information. A good resource for finding relevant contact information is eddcaller.com, which provides information on when is the best time to call the Virginia unemployment office. It also offers valuable tips such as how to get through to a live representative, ensuring that your concerns are being heard and addressed effectively.