To understand the frustrations some Virginians are experiencing with unemployment benefits, itâs worth spending a few minutes chatting with Eddie Seay. Though the progressive activist is based in Franklin County, heâs been working on behalf of aggrieved workers throughout the commonwealth.
Months after their layoffs, many are still waiting for their unemployment benefits to begin, Seay told me. For others, benefits started but were mysteriously cut off. And getting an explanation for either is often impossible, he added.
On one day last week, Seay said he made 126 phone calls to the agencyâs toll-free line on behalf of claimants who for one reason or another havenât received benefits they believe were due. Not once among all those calls was Seay able to talk to a human at the VEC, he said.