Commission on Unemployment Compensation, Unemployment Subcommittee: October 8, 2024
Summary
This letter from the Unemployment Compensation Subcommittee of the Commission on Unemployment Compensation states that the Subcommittee met on October 8, 2024, to consider updates from Commissioner Demetrios Melis of the Virginia Employment Commission. It says the letter and the attached report serve to meet the Subcommittee's reporting requirement under the Code of Virginia. The attached presentation lists a partnership with ID.me for login, 57% fewer total calls compared to this time last year, and a decrease in pending appeal average age from 539 days to 73 days. A table of initial claims lists 1,067,386 for calendar year 2020 and 131,376 projected for 2024.
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“Commission on Unemployment Compensation, Unemployment Subcommittee: October 8, 2024.”
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COMMISSION ON UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION
UNEMPLOYMENT SUBCOMMITTEE
Per § 30-222 of the Code of Virginia, as amended by H.B. 270 and S.B. 219 during the
2022 Regular Session of the General Assembly, the Commission on Unemployment
Compensation is required to establish an Unemployment Compensation Subcommittee to
monitor the Virginia Employment Commission's management of the Commonwealth's
unemployment insurance system. The Unemployment Compensation Subcommittee is tasked
with reviewing key performance metrics related to unemployment insurance backlogs; efforts to
identify, prevent, and recover incorrect unemployment insurance benefit payments, including
fraudulent payments; modernization of the unemployment insurance information technology
system and subsequent efforts to improve functionality; expenditures of state funds appropriated
for unemployment insurance administration; and implementation of recommendations from the
2021 Operations and Performance of the Virginia Employment Commission report by the Joint
Legislative Audit and Review Commission.
The Unemployment Compensation Subcommittee is required to include (i) at least one
employee stakeholder representative, (ii) at least one employer representative, (iii) at least one
member of the Commission on Unemployment Compensation, (iv) at least one member from
each of the following committees: the House Committee on Appropriations, the House
Committee on Commerce and Energy, the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor, and the
Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations. The Subcommittee is required to meet once
each quarter through June 30, 2025 and report annually to the House Committee on
Appropriations, the House Committee on Commerce and Energy, the Senate Committee on
Commerce and Labor, and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations.
The members of the Subcommittee, as appointed by the Chair and Vice Chair of the
Commission on Unemployment Compensation, are as follows: (i) Doris Crouse-Mays (AFL-
CIO); employee stakeholder representative; (ii) Julia Hammond (NFIB), employer stakeholder
representative; (iii) Delegate Bennett-Parker, who serves as the Chairwoman of this
Subcommittee; (iv) Delegate Marshall, House Appropriations; Delegate Mundon King, House
Commerce and Energy; Senator DeSteph, Senate Commerce and Labor; Senator Ebbin, Senate
Finance and Appropriations.
The Subcommittee met on October 8, 2024 to consider updates presented by The
Honorable Commissioner Demetrios Melis of the Virginia Employment Commission related to
unemployment insurance and progress to date. This letter, in conjunction with the attached report
on the Virginia Employment Commission's Unemployment Insurance Progress Update, serves to
meet the Unemployment Compensation Subcommittee's reporting requirement per § 30-222 of
the Code of Virginia.
Attachment: VEC Unemployment Insurance (UI) Update on Progress-to-Date
VEC Unemployment Insurance (UI)
Presentation to the UC Commission
October 8, 2024
Customer Service Update
Online Initial Claims Filed
70%
60%
• Partnered with ID.me for Fast, Easy Login 60%
50%
• Alternative login (launched 1/25/24)
40%
• Provides quick and efficient customer access while 30% 22%
preventing fraud—90% access success rate 20%
• Record claims filed online – 173% increase in usage 10%
0%
since this time last year 0%
1/15/2022 9/30/2023 9/28/2024
• COVITS Technology Award – IT Serving the Customer
• Customer Contact Center Weekly Total Inbound Calls
• 57% fewer total calls compared to this time last year 90,000
78,263
80,000
• 62% fewer unique callers since December 2023 70,000
60,000 50,801
• Integrated texting capability to share information and 50,000
provide a direct link to log in 40,000
30,000 21,867
• New callback feature – 90% success rate 20,000
• Self Service Options – real-time claims/appeals updates 10,000
0
1/15/2022 9/30/2023 9/28/2024
2
Customer Service Update
• Chief Customer Advocate
• Customer Engagement – Collaborates with Communications Director to
promote UI awareness
• Stakeholder Collaboration – Improves services by working with
employers, advocacy and community groups, and other external
partners
• Escalated Assistance – Serves as a liaison to assist in resolving
complex cases
• Outreach
• Bilingual Info Cards – Shared at all Virginia Works Offices
• Community Engagement – Participates in town halls and resource days
• Stakeholders – Working with social services, community groups, and
libraries to share education with constituencies
• Social Media – Regularly posting educational content
• Plain Language Initiative – Simplifying customer communications
3
Customer Service Update
• Customer Escalation Team
• Advocacy Support – Helps customers with barriers
• Enhanced Systems – Integrated into the Call Center for better service
• Specialized Team – Advanced expertise and decision-making power
• Faster Resolutions – Quicker service with better first contact resolutions
• New Online Contact Forms – Centralizes and manages all inquiries for
easier referrals
• Technology Tools for Customers
• New Website in Development – Improved customer experience, easier
navigation and plain language (launch January 2025)
• Automated Texts & Emails – Over 700,000 messages sent for filing
online, mass layoffs, and other important information
• Automated Dialer – Over 20,000 calls made, the service informs
customers of our number and makes 3 callback attempts
4
UI Initial Claims
Calendar Year Claims Filed
2016 178,422
2017 150,450
2018 133,728
2019 135,064
2020 1,067,386
2021 514,484
2022 167,607
2023 138,791
2024 131,376*
*projected
5
UI Initial Claims 2023 - 2024
18,000
16,000
14,398
14,000
15,379
12,000
9,606 The week of
10,000
September 19, 2024
8,000 saw 2,164 Initial
6,000 Claims.
4,000
2,000
0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
2023 2024
6
Operational Update
• Adjudication
• Adjudication productivity continues to exceed workload demands.
• Sustained performance improvements beginning in January 2024
DOL Metric Q4 2023 Q1 2024 Q2 2024 • 80% of Pending
First Pay Timeliness 62.0% 83.1% 83.5%
Appeals Scheduled
Decision Timeliness 53.4% 83.8% 83.5%
• All scheduled within
• Appeals the next two months
• Decreased pending appeal average age from 539 days to 73 days
• Incoming appeals are elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels
12/6/2023 10/7/2024
Appeal Inventory (dockets) 43,970 4,670
Pending Appeal Average Age (days) 539 73
7
DOL Metric Rankings
DOL First Pay Timeliness, Q2 2024
Rank State % Rank State % Rank State % Rank State % Rank State % Rank State %
1 ND 97.1 11 WV 86.8 21 IN 80.3 31 FL 72.0 41 MT 63.1 51 CO 40.4 • Q1 2022:
2 AK 94.5 12 OK 86.0 22 NC 80.3 32 KS 71.8 42 MD 62.7 52 AL 33.1
3 SC 94.2 13 MO 85.7 23 LA 79.0 33 PR 71.1 43 MA 61.8 53 NV * • 52nd in First Pay
4 WY 92.9 14 IL 85.3 24 TN 78.4 34 VT 70.7 44 PA 61.8 AVG US 73.6
5 SD 91.7 15 WI 84.9 25 CA 78.1 35 NM 70.6 45 AR 60.0
• 45th in Decision Timeliness
6 MN 91.2 16 MS 84.8 26 GA 76.4 36 NY 70.5 46 AZ 57.1
7 RI 90.2 17 ME 84.7 27 NJ 75.4 37 WA 68.7 47 KY 56.2 • Q1 2023:
8 ID 88.9 18 UT 83.6 28 MI 73.9 38 VI ^66.7 48 DC 51.7
• 53rd in First Pay
9 NE 88.5 19 VA 83.5 29 CT 73.1 39 HI 66.5 49 DE 48.9
10 IA 87.6 20 NH 82.7 30 TX 72.9 40 OH 65.6 50 OR 48.6 • 51st in Decision Timeliness
DOL Decision Timeliness, Q2 2024
Rank State % Rank State % Rank State % Rank State % Rank State % Rank State %
1 WV 97.1 11 SD 90.0 21 LA 83.0 31 OR 67.7 41 CO 47.3 51 AZ 18.8
2 SC 96.8 12 ME 89.0 22 RI 79.5 32 PR 67.4 42 DC 43.9 52 AR 12.5 • Virginia now ranks in the top 20
3 IA 96.5 13 IL 88.4 23 IN 77.2 33 OH 67.1 43 KS 40.8 53 NV *
4 ND 96.2 14 NC 87.7 24 ID 76.6 34 VI 66.7 44 MD 40.6 AVG US 66 • Well above national average in
5 NE 95.7 15 CT 85.8 25 MT 75.6 35 TX 65.2 45 PA 39.7
6 UT 94.0 16 MO 84.8 26 MI 74.4 36 WA 56.9 46 AL 36.8 both key metrics
7 AK 92.4 17 OK 84.7 27 TN 72.7 37 MA 56.2 47 DE 33.1
8 WI 92.1 18 MN 84.2 28 NJ 70.6 38 KY 52.9 48 FL 26.7
9 WY 91.5 19 VA 83.5 29 CA 68.2 39 NY 52.6 49 HI 22.0
10 NH 91.2 20 MS 83.0 30 GA 68.0 40 NM 48.5 50 VT 21.7
8
Completed Work Items
Starting Remaining Removed or
Balance Received 1/15/22 Current Completed
Category 1/15/22 since 1/15/22 Backlog Inventory since 1/15/22
Separation Reports 246,273 99,878 - - 346,151
Adjudication
109,362 352,819 - 6,131* 456,050
(Issues)
Potential Fraud
258,320 104,402 - 149* 362,573
(Claims)
First Level Appeals
86,546 121,062 - 4,670 202,938
(Dockets)
Total 700,501 678,161 0 10,970 1,367,712
* Working Inventory
As of 10/7/2024
9
Fraud Deterrence
• PinDrop
• First state to use PinDrop – Enhancing fraud detection in the call center
• Integrated Fraud Detection – Active in both UI call center and automated
weekly claim filings
• Uncovered Fraud Scheme – Identified fraudulent claims tied to a fictitious
employer with multiple claimants
• ID.me Alternate Login
• Identity Verification Tool – Uses multi-factor authentication, government-
issued ID uploads for identity verification
• Knowledge-Based Security – Protects access with personalized questions
• NIST IAL2 Compliant – Adheres to high-level security standards
• Prosecutions
• Collaborative Effort – VEC works with state and federal authorities including
FBI and US DOL Office of the Inspector General to actively prosecute fraud
and recover pandemic relief funds
10
Funding Outlook
• DOL Base Funding
• Pandemic era funds are winding down, returning to pre-pandemic
funding levels
• Administrative Fee
• During the 2024 Session, the Governor and General Assembly adopted
a proposal to establish a revenue-neutral administrative fee
• This proposal will allow the agency to develop a revenue source to
support critical operations for staffing and IT
• The fee will go into effect in January of 2025 and is expected to
generate approximately $16 million a year by reducing employer taxes
by a corresponding amount to the newly created fee
• Treasury Loan Authorization
• VEC has been authorized to receive a treasury loan to cover necessary
operational expenses if needed
• The treasury loan must be repaid within three years
11
Trust Fund Data—Standard Forecast
(Millions of Dollars)
2023 2024
January 1 Balance $1,478.6 $1,517.5
June 30 Balance $1,546.3 $1,557.3
Tax Revenue $297.4 $223.8*
Interest Revenue $27.5 $43.2*
Benefits $193.7 $270.9*
December 31 Balance $1,517.5 $1,432.2*
Solvency Level (6/30) 55% 57%*
*Projected
12
June 30 Trust Fund Balances and Solvency
$1,800
$1,546 $1,557
$1,459 55% 57%
$1,600 $1,426
82% 5%
$1,312
$1,400
$1,194 76%
69%
$1,200
$1,029
57%
$1,000
$825 As of August 31, 2024,
40% $676
$800 $564 86%
The trust fund balance
$600
24% is $1,537.7 billion.
$335
9%
$400 $291 $135
64%
-6% $110
$200
($104) ($80) 34%
24% -8%
$0
-$200
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
*negative amounts indicate periods of borrowing from the Federal government
13
Average State Tax Per Employee
$250
$16.00
$16.00
$16.00
$16.00
$200
$42.40
$30.40
$17.60 Rates will be computed
using standard
$16.00
$37.60
Cost per Employee
$11.20
$16.00
$5.60 methodology after
$150
$22.40 pandemic era rate
$2.40 Fund Builder
freeze expires, Dec
$0.80 Pool
$100 $1.60 $6.40 31st 2024
$177.60
$187.60$187.40
$0.80 Base
$166.60 $16.00 $16.00
$161.40
$151.40 $2.40 $2.40 $2.40
$- $-
$127.60 $131.60
$112.00
$50 $97.40 $96.60
$89.20
$69.94 $71.24 $71.24 $71.24 $71.24
$0
$99 $103 $166 $215 $236 $234 $221 $194 $157 $134 $113 $90 $70 $90 $90 $74 $71
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Calendar
2014 2015 Year
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
14
Questions/Comments please contact:
Commissioner Demetrios "Mitch" Melis
demetrios.melis@vec.virginia.gov
15
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