LYNCHBURG, Va. – Virginia saw another week of unemployment claims grow.
More than 28,000 new claims were filed the week of March 4 -- a bit more than the week before. Overall, the Commonwealth has around 57,000 claims.
These numbers come as a lawsuit filed Thursday says some people aren’t getting that money.
“This is just the first step in the process,” said Steve Fishbach, litigation director for the Virginia Poverty Law Center, one of the groups representing plaintiffs.
The class-action lawsuit alleges plaintiffs stopped receiving benefits from the Virginia Employment Commission due to “failures in the insurance systems.”
“Unemployment insurance is something that is intended to supply people with emergency assistance while they’re in between jobs,” said Fishbach.
The group claims the Commonwealth ranks worse than any other state in processing issues on unemployment claims.
“The data that the VEC files with the U.S. Department of Labor, as of February 2021, showed over 95% of the claims were taking more than 10 weeks to be decided. Ten weeks is not prompt,” said Fishbach.
There are two groups: people who filed an initial claim and never heard back, and those who stopped receiving their weekly claims without an explanation.
“Having to wait 10 weeks to even have a deputy look at your claim defeats the purpose of having emergency aid available.”
If you’re having issues, Fishbach said there’s not much more people can do, as they’re already suing on the behalf of those unemployed. But he encourages people to contact their local legal aid organization.