Vermont labor commissioner warns federal layoffs, potential shutdown could slow unemployment claims

The Vermael House Committee on Commerce & Economic Development heard Jan. 21 that recent federal workforce reductions and the possibility of a federal shutdown could slow processing of unemployment claims in Vermont and increase adjudications, state labor officials said.

Commissioner (Vermont Department of Labor) told the committee the department is treating two separate buckets of cases: employees who are terminated and employees who are furloughed when a federal shutdown occurs. "We take that claim at the Department of Labor. We will also send a form to the federal government," the commissioner said, adding that wage records from the federal government often arrive slowly and the department therefore sometimes accepts claimant affidavits of wages.

The distinction matters for eligibility and timing. If the employer asserts a termination "for cause" — typically a…