RICHMOND, Va. – Gov. Glenn Youngkin has named Carrie Roth as head of the Virginia Employment Commission, which has had trouble processing and paying nearly 2 million unemployment benefit claims during the pandemic.
Roth was one of 19 appointees announced by the Republican governor’s office Friday.
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“I look forward to seeing her plan on how we can work together to serve Virginians who are seeking benefits that they are due,” Democratic state Sen. Adam Ebbin, a member of the legislative Commission on Unemployment Compensation, told the Richmond-Times Dispatch.
The Michigan native who grew up in Chesterfield County has been a prominent Republican political appointee for more than 25 years, according to the newspaper. She served as deputy secretary of commerce and trade under Gov. Bob McDonnell from 2010-2013.
Roth was president and CEO of the Virginia Bio+Tech Park in Richmond from 2013 until May 2020. She left her position as chief operating officer in February 2021 when she founded an entrepreneurial consulting firm.
Democratic Govs. Ralph Northam and Terry McAuliffe appointed Roth to the Virginia Board of Workforce Development.
Ellen Marie Hess, the employment commission head for six years who was unlikely to be reappointed by Youngkin, announced her retirement earlier this month.
Hess was sued in a federal lawsuit filed in April 2021 by advocates for five unemployed women who alleged “gross failures” to provide needed help as required by law amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
A judge found the agency satisfied the terms of a settlement agreement to improve its performance and recently dismissed the case.