Unemployment commission adopts remote‑participation policy; reviews 2025 benefit increases and VEC service reforms

The Commission on Unemployment Compensation adopted an electronic participation policy and reviewed several 2025 General Assembly enactments and Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) operational reforms during a meeting in Richmond. Senator Adam Evan, chair of the commission, opened the meeting and led the roll call and a voice vote to adopt the remote‑participation policy.

The commission received a staff briefing on four bills from the 2025 session that take effect July 1 and other legislative and administrative developments. Marvie Veil (staff member) summarized the measures, saying SB 878 “talks about this commission on unemployment compensation and its membership and its powers and duties,” and described changes that move some subcommittee functions to the full commission and add two non‑legislative citizen members. Veil said those two citizen members “will be the same members serving on the subcommittee for the first year” and thereafter will be appointed by legislative leaders and committees as specified in the enacted language.

Veil also described two benefit‑related bills and one administrative threshold change. SB 1057 raises the threshold for deducting wages from weekly benefits: wages up to $100 will not reduce a claimant’s weekly benefit amount (previously the…