What Is the Cap on Unemployment in Virginia?
Employees who are out of work in Virginia may qualify for state unemployment benefits. This compensation is available to workers who have lost their job due to layoffs or poor performance. While unemployment benefits are not a substitute for full-time income, they can assist with living expenses while employees search for new work. Virginia unemployment compensation is available to workers at a specific amount for a specific period.
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Determination of Benefits
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After an unemployment claimant files for benefits, the Virginia Employment Commission determines how much weekly compensation can be received and for what length of time. These amounts are based on the wages that the claimant earned during his or her base period.
Base Period Wages
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For most unemployment claimants, the base period is the last four completed calendar quarters prior to filing their initial claim. If a worker files a claim in January, February or March, his base period would be the previous four calendar quarters, or January through December of the previous year. To qualify for benefits, an employee must earn at least $2,700 in total during the last two calendar quarters before the initial claim.
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Weekly Benefit Amount Limit
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Once the base period has been established, the Virginia Employment Commission looks at the two calendar quarters during that time with the highest earned wages. The amount earned during this time is used as a basis for the weekly benefit amount. Unemployed workers in Virginia are currently eligible for a minimum weekly benefit amount of $54 and a maximum weekly benefit amount of $378. To receive the maximum weekly benefit amount, employees must have earned over $18,900 in their two highest base period quarters.
Benefit Length Limit
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Virginia workers can receive state unemployment compensation for 12 to 26 weeks. The time limit for benefits is also determined by the claimant's base-period wages. Those who qualify for the minimum weekly benefit amount of $54 will receive compensation for 12 weeks if their two highest base-period quarter wages were $2,700. If they earned more than $5,400 during those calendar quarters, they will receive benefits for 26 weeks. Workers who are eligible for the maximum weekly benefit amount of $378 will receive compensation for 12 weeks if they earned at least $18,700 during their highest base-period quarters. Those who earned over $37,800 during their two highest base-period quarters will continue receiving state benefits for 26 weeks.
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References
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