Virginia Employment Commission

Address:	703 E Main St, Richmond, VA 23219, USA
Phone:	+1 866-832-2363
Site:	vec.virginia.gov
Rating:	1.2
Working:	8:15AM–4:30PM 8:15AM–4:30PM 8:15AM–4:30PM 8:15AM–4:30PM 8:15AM–4:30PM Closed Closed

Location

Photos 7

Reviews 5

Todd Schneider

As an employer in Virginia, I have a very negative impression of this commission from many angles, but will address only a few here. First, the way that seasonal employees are treated. Without getting into the many details, the commission makes it exceedingly difficult for eligible employees to collect anything - the stop/start dates for eligibility of workers that are unemployed during winter/freezing months is ill-timed (they have to reapply for consideration during a 6-8 week window of unemployment), and the refusal to pay out to employer-determined "eligible" employees that have had benefits paid for (the commission apparently runs their citizenship status through a system that employers are not required to, and then refuses to pay out due to their separate determination). If the commission will allow the insurance dues to be paid for an employee, then they shouldnt disallow any payout based on a subsequent determination outside the requirement of the employer. Second, the commission updated their website, which might have been helpful, had it been somewhat user friendly. It is not. I was certain that I had properly filed reports and made payments starting in 2016 (when the new site was rolled out), but it turns out I had not discovered all of the "submit" buttons I needed to, and nothing registered as "filed". Needless to say, the gladly collected penalty fees and interest when I discovered the problem. I just tried to call to discuss this issue and, low and behold, once you find a number to call them on, there is no one available to take your call, you cannot be placed on hold, and there is no voicemail to leave a message on - you just have to keep calling back until someone picks up. Lastly, when my employees do visit the commission office, all report dissatisfaction with the manner of treatment or consideration. Disgusted!

Kyle D

I was suspended from my job for being transgender. A little background, my suspension was claimed to be due to negligence towards the company, but I was never given a reason as to how I was found negligent. A member was having inappropriate relations with employees and members, one of them was a minor. Somehow, the member found out what was on his account, first off a member should never know what on their account, they dont have said privilege. Secondly, that clearly means there is someone else involved. I was suspended immediately on Friday May 19, 2017 without pay. Nor was there further investigation into the problem. Furthermore, I was the ONLY person to receive punishment. I filed an initial claim for unemployment benefits as I am a self supporting college student at ODU. I was originally given my monetary determination and felt a huge sigh of relief. However, about 2 weeks later I recieved a letter in the mail stating that I must have a fact finding interview with my previous employer. During said interview, my problems were listened to but not taken seriously. Let me be perfectly clear, I resigned two days after I was suspended because the company I worked for did not uphold their mantra of equality, and I knew the only end result was me being terminated becasue the corporate company are bigoted hypocritical thieves who pay their employees way below the national average for a copious amount of work. Anyway, The deputy kept asking why I resigned and I told her just that I would rather have a resignation on my file than a termination. My sister was also terminated from the same employer and she is a lesbian. The following week I filed a charge of discrimination with the EEOC. Never work for an employer with the word Christian in it. NEVER

Robert Sale

First you will file for your claim. It takes more than a week for you to finally receive a letter with a number on it that allows you to claim weekly benefits. However, no matter how accurately and truthfully you enter all your data, Virginia will have some sort of discrepancy. In which case they will not notify you at all and simply say that you have no benefits to claim. The only way to resolve this issue is to call them. Not through the internet, but through their phone service. You will stay on the line, listening to about 20 minutes or more worth of menu listings in both English and Spanish before you will eventually be transferred to another menu - where you repeat all of the same things you did in the previous menu. You will eventually reach a tone indicating that youre being transferred to a representative who can actually handle this issue. Right as the representative is about to answer.... Your phone will hang up. One hour wasted. You must repeat this about 4 or 5 times a day until eventually you reach someone who can solve whatever completely trivial piece of information they need in order to allow you to claim the money they rightfully owe you. After about a month or more of starving and approaching your new home under a bridge, you will perhaps receive the benefits you paid for in taxes during your time at work. TL;DR: prepare to be homeless.

Paula Faivre

I am an employer. I received a notice for a past employee filing for benefits. I called the number on the form as requested, it is disconnected. I called the 800# on the VEC website, it says to call back another time. I keep calling, same response - call back later. I get a phone message in the office that says XYZ person called & said she has been trying to reach you... so I pull phone records - nope, its not true. No calls from that number in the last 3 months. So I start calling again - same response - no way to leave a message - just a "call later" message. I get a fax from VEC - so I call the numbers on the fax - disconnected. I call the numbers from the prior message - I get a random voice mail, it does not identify the company or the name of the person, so I leave a generic message (since Im not sure if I have even called the VEC Im not going to leave personal info about a past employee) saying to call me back... what a terrible system! So many complaints of people just trying to get help. PS - your employers cant help either because they are using the same broken system. New leadership is needed in this place.

LaLa Leo

The worst place in the entire state. These people are under staffed and overpaid. This business is supposed to be dedicated to finding people work, yet they dont even have enough people to run the place. They hire heartless, incompetent, uneducated people and then give them important positions that involves other peoples employment and money. The VEC needs immediate reformation or it needs to be burned to the ground. With miscommunication and long hold times, it is Damn near impossible to get in touch with anybody who actually knows what they are doing. I hate this place with all of my heart and truly feel bad for anyone who has to contact them for anything. Ive been waiting 3 weeks since I spoke with a deputy and no decision still has been made. I am told that it may be the new deputy in training coming to the decision. But, if she has such a heavy workload as a new employee, common sense would tell her superior to reassign some of her work. I am beyond pissed and know that as a VEC rep, that if I call you or contact you in any way, it will never be pleasant.