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Unemployed Virginians still waiting on extension of benefits promised in CARES Act

Federal stimulus legislation provides a 13-week extension of benefits to unemployed workers who exhausted their benefit weeks. It's not ready in Virginia.

NORFOLK, Va. — For workers whose unemployment benefits expired just as the job market crashed, the announcement of a 13-week extension of benefits seemed like a lifeline.

Now, they don't know what to think.

"Initially I felt a sense of relief and hope, and since then it’s just been a lot of stress and anxiety," said Claire Coddington, an unemployed college counselor.

Coddington said she was close to securing a new job when her benefits expired in late March.

“I was finally gaining some traction, had some possibilities and then things got suspended because of the coronavirus situation," she said.

Like hundreds of thousands of other Virginians, she’s now out of work in a job market crisis.

Even though President Trump signed the CARES Act into law on March 27, designating unemployment extensions for people like Coddington, she’s still not receiving benefits.

“After all this time has passed I’m wondering if I’m ever going to get a straight answer. Is there light at the end of the tunnel?" she said.

The Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) is still working on implementing a system for identifying unemployment extensions eligible under the new federal legislation and distributing benefits. 

A VEC spokeswoman did not answer requests for information Monday about the timeline of this process or how Virginians should ensure access to these extended benefits.

Self-employed workers and independent contractors can now apply online for benefits outlined in the CARES Act through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program.

Coddington said she feels like unemployment extensions are not a high priority for state leaders.

“Day after day it really gets trying to have to wait, only to be told the same thing you were told a week or two weeks ago," she said. 

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