How to Qualify
To qualify you must meet three requirements.One is your monetary qualification. This qualification is based on your wage earnings during the regular base period. The base period is the first four quarters of the last five completed calendar quarters prior to the effective date of your claim. The weekly amount you receive is based on the earnings you actually received during those first four quarters.
If you do not have enough wages in those four quarters to qualify , an alternate base period will be used. This will consist of the wages you earned during the previous four quarters just prior to your claim effective date.
The base period is set by law and will not change during the length of your claim.
You will receive by postal mail a ” Monetary Determination Letter”, which will show the amount of your weekly payments and the number of weeks you qualify for.
Separation Qualification
If you are separated from your employer for reasons other than lack of work, it will be necessary for the (VEC), Virginia Employment Commission, to gather facts and information concerning your separation from your employer. If you quit or were fired you will be given an opportunity to present your information and you will also review the information presented by your former employer.
A VEC Deputy will conduct a conference call at a specified time with you and your former employer and will hear both sides of the appeal. He will then make a determination and you will be notified by postal mail.
If you lost your job because of misconduct, you may be denied benefits. However if your separation from your former employer was because of something that was no fault of your own, such as an inability to satisfactorily do the work, you may still qualify for benefits.
Weekly Requirements:
You will have twenty eight days from the time you file your original claim to submit your first weekly claim. Claims must be done weekly, usually on Sunday evening, so that you receive your payment by Wednesday of the following week.
You must be able and available for work each week you make a claim.
Your original filing and your weekly claims can done on the internet at :www.VaEmploy.com or at www.vec.virginia.gov .
You may also use the Voice Response System(VRS) by phone to file your weekly claims.
After you file for benefits you will receive by postal mail a six digit pin number. You must have this pin number and a user id of your own choosing, to log in to the system and file your claims.
You must be able to provide the VEC with verification of your job contacts, and be willing to accept and apply for suitable work. Suitable work means applying for jobs along the same lines as your previous jobs.
For example- A person who was a hairdresser in their previous work would come under great scrutiny if the VEC observed that they had been applying to plumbing suppliers.
The system will ask for the date of the job contact, the name and address of the company, The type of job applied for and how the contact was made.
Many office and administration positions will allow you to submit a resume by fax. If so, it will be stated in their job ads.
You must also report any wages earned during the previous week. If you received a great amount ,your payment may be reduced for that week.
If you are asked to call or report to your local office, you must do so,. Failure to report when it is requested may affect your payments.
How payments are made:
You may choose to have your payments automatically deposited into your bank account. If you do not have a bank account your payments will be direct deposited to a prepaid card, which the VEC will send you. This card is the same as a regular prepaid credit card and can be used at any retailer that accepts them.
Recent legislation to extend benefits in Virginia was rejected .
