Virginia Employment Commission chief warns extended jobless benefits could end soon

[Blue_Tires]

The hardship of being out of work in Virginia could get a lot worse in March if the federal government does not provide additional money to pay for an extension of unemployment benefits.

On Wednesday, Dolores A. Esser, commissioner of the Virginia Employment Commission, sent a letter to all members of the Virginia General Assembly warning of the potential expiration of Federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation.

"As things stand now, the EUC program will end on Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010," Esser wrote.

"Unless Congress acts before then, two things will happen: First the Virginia Employment Commission will cease paying extended benefits for any weeks after March 6, 2010," she wrote.

"Second, we will not be able to accept and process any new claims for EUC benefits."

The issue was further brought to the attention of lawmakers yesterday by Sen. John Watkins, R-Powhatan, chairman of the Virginia Commission on Unemployment Compensation. He spoke of the need for lawmakers to pressure their congressional representatives to act on a jobs-creation bill to extend benefits under the program.

Virginia's unemployment rate is 6.9 percent, several points lower than the nation's but the highest the state has seen in decades.

Unemployed Virginians who qualify are entitled to 26 weeks of benefits; the EUC and extended-benefits program provide an additional 26 weeks and 13 weeks of unemployment pay, respectively.

Esser said an extension reportedly is in the works in Washington but has yet to be agreed upon.

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/state_regional/state_regional_govtpolitics/article/JOBS26_20100225-222602/326942/