Virginia Law

The following words and terms when used in this chapter shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Act" means the Virginia Unemployment Compensation Act as set out in Title 60.2 (§ 60.2-100 et seq.) of the Code of Virginia.

"Additional claim" means a claim for unemployment compensation benefits filed within an existing benefit year by a claimant who has had an intervening period of employment since filing a prior claim.

"Adjudication center" means a service location designated by the commission as an official station for agency staff who are primarily involved in adjudication of disputed benefit and tax liability issues. An adjudication center may be co-located with or incorporated into other agency service locations.

"Agency" means any officer, board, commission, or other authority charged with the administration of the unemployment compensation law of a participating jurisdiction.

"Agent state" means any state in which an individual files a claim for benefits from another state.

"Area of high unemployment" means that geographic area of Virginia, including all cities and counties where the average unemployment rate as determined by the commission has been 10% or more during the more recent completed calendar quarters.

"Benefits" means the compensation payable to an individual, with respect to his unemployment, under the unemployment insurance law of any state or under any federal program in which such compensation is payable in accordance with applicable state law.

"Cash value of remuneration" means the value of rent, housing, lodging, board, or any other payment in kind, in addition to or in lieu of money wages, as agreed upon by the employing unit and the worker at the time of entering into the contract of hire or thereafter. If there is no such agreement, the value thereof shall be an amount equal to a fair estimate of what the worker would, according to his custom and station, pay for similar goods, services, or accommodations in the same community at premises other than those provided by the employing unit.

"Combined-wage claimant" means a claimant who has covered wages under the unemployment compensation law of Virginia and one other state and who has filed a claim under the Interstate Arrangement for Combining Employment and Wages.

"Commission" means the Virginia Employment Commission as defined in § 60.2-108 of the Code of Virginia.

"Continued claim" or "weekly claim" means a request for the payment of unemployment compensation benefits that is made after the filing of an initial claim.

"Days" means consecutive calendar days unless the use of the term in this chapter specifies otherwise.

"Ex parte communication" means any communication with the presiding appeals examiner or special examiner, regardless of the medium, not in the agency's record regarding substantive, procedural, or other matters that could be reasonably expected to influence the outcome of the case or case decision pending before the agency and for which reasonable notice to all parties is not given at the time of the communication. "Parties" shall include claimants and any employers or employing units that have a direct interest in the outcome of the pending case.

"Initial claim" means any new claim for unemployment compensation benefits.

"In-person hearing" means a hearing where the parties, witnesses, and representatives personally appear before the appeals examiner or special examiner.

"Interested jurisdiction" means any participating jurisdiction to which an election submitted under 16VAC5-50-10 et seq. is sent for its approval and "interested agency" means the agency of such jurisdiction.

"Interstate Benefit Payment Plan" means an approved plan under which benefits shall be payable to unemployed individuals absent from the state in which benefit credits have been accumulated.

"Interstate claimant" means an individual who claims benefits under the unemployment insurance law of one liable state through the facilities of an agent state. The term "interstate claimant" shall not include any individual who customarily commutes from a residence in an agent state to work in a liable state unless the commission finds that this exclusion would create undue hardship on such claimants in specified areas.

"Jurisdiction" means the Commonwealth of Virginia, including land or premises located therein, owned, held, or possessed by the United States, the states of the United States of America, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

"Liable employer" means the employing unit for whom a claimant last worked during 30 days, whether or not such days were consecutive, or for 240 hours prior to filing an initial, additional, or reopened claim for benefits.

"Liable state" means any state against which an individual files, through another state, a claim for benefits.

"Mass separation" means a separation (permanently, for an expected duration of at least seven days, or for any indefinite period) at or about the same time and for the same reasons (i) of at least 20% of the total number of workers employed in an establishment; (ii) of at least 50% of the total number of workers employed in any division or department of any establishment; or (iii) notwithstanding any of the foregoing, a separation at or about the same time and for the same reason of 25 or more workers employed in a single establishment.

"New claim" means a claim for unemployment compensation benefits filed in a manner prescribed by the commission, by an individual who does not have an existing benefit year established.

"Notification lists" means lists used by the commission to notify interested parties of regulatory actions pursuant to this chapter. Such lists may include electronic mailing lists maintained through a state website or regular mailing lists maintained by the commission.

"Partially unemployed individual" means an individual who during a particular week (i) had earnings, but less than his weekly benefit amounts, (ii) was employed by a regular employer, and (iii) worked, but less than his normal customary hours for such regular employer because of lack of work.

"Participating jurisdiction" means a jurisdiction whose administrative agency has subscribed to the Interstate Arrangement for Combining Employment and Wages and whose adherence thereto has not terminated.

"Part-total unemployment" means the unemployment of any individual in any week of less than full-time work in which he earns some remuneration (but less than his weekly benefit amount) and during which he is not attached to a regular employer; or, in any week in which he has wages such as holiday or vacation pay that are less than his weekly benefit amount, but where no actual work has been performed regardless of his attachment to a regular employer.

"Paying state" means (i) the state in which a combined-wage claimant files a combined-wage claim, if the claimant qualifies for unemployment benefits in that state on the basis of combined employment and wages, and combining will increase either the weekly benefit amount or the maximum benefit amount; or (ii) if the state in which a combined-wage claimant files a combined-wage claim is not the paying state under the criterion set forth in clause (i) of this definition, or if the combined-wage claim is filed in Canada or the U.S. Virgin Islands, then the paying state shall be that state where the combined-wage claimant was last employed in covered employment among the states in which the claimant qualifies for unemployment benefits on the basis of combined employment and wages.

"Reopened claim" means the first claim for unemployment compensation benefits filed within an existing benefit year after a break in the claim series caused by any reason other than intervening employment.

"Services customarily performed by an individual in more than one jurisdiction" means services performed in more than one jurisdiction during a reasonable period, if the nature of the services gives reasonable assurance that they will continue to be performed in more than one jurisdiction or if such services are required or expected to be performed in more than one jurisdiction under the election.

"Severance and dismissal pay" means, for the purpose of taxation and benefits, all payments made by an employer at or subsequent to an employee's separation, except that payments that are exclusively for services performed prior to separation shall not be treated as severance or dismissal pay. Such payments may be allocated by the employer for any period following separation so long as such allocation is at a weekly rate at least equal to the average weekly wage received by such employee during the last calendar quarter preceding the separation, and will in such cases be deemed to have been paid in those weeks covered by the allocation. If no allocation is made by the employer, such payments will be deemed allocated to the last day of work.

"Split hearing" means an in-person hearing where one or more parties, representatives, or witnesses are allowed to participate telephonically.

"State" means the Commonwealth of Virginia, including land or premises located therein, owned, held, or possessed by the United States, the states of the United States of America, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

"Telephone hearing" means a hearing where all parties, witnesses, and representatives participate before the appeals or special examiner by way of a telephone conference call.

"Total unemployment" means the unemployment of an individual for any week in which he performs no work and has no wages payable to him, regardless of whether or not he is attached to an employing unit's payroll.

"Transferring state" means a state in which a combined-wage claimant had covered employment and wages in the base period of a paying state, and that transfers such employment and wages to the paying state for its use in determining the benefit rights of such claimant under its law.

"Workforce center" means an office of the commission, which may include one-stop centers, job information, referral services, and unemployment insurance services.