If you have been, or will be, separated from employment with VCU, you may be eligible for unemployment compensation. The Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) makes a determination as to whether or not any employee is eligible to receive unemployment compensation by looking at several factors, including but not limited to the factors listed below:

• The reason(s) for separation
• The employee’s earnings prior to separation
• The length of time the employee worked for their last and previous employers
• Amount of any severance paid
• Amount of any leave paid

To find out if you qualify for unemployment compensation, you should file a claim with the VEC office nearest to your home once your employment has ended. To make the claims process easier, bring a form of identification, such as a driver’s license or Social Security card, and work history, such as a résumé or curriculum vitae to the VEC. For any questions about the claims process, see locations below, call the VEC or contact VCU Human Resources at (804) 828-1588.

Locations

Central Office
703 East Main Street                                 Mailing address:
Richmond, Virginia 23219                         Postal Box 1358
Phone: (804) 786-1485                             Richmond, Virginia 23218-1358

Richmond – Metro North      
Workforce Center                                       Mailing address:
8093 Elm Drive                                           Postal Box 997
Mechanicsville, Virginia 23111-1160         Mechanicsville, Virginia 23111-0997
Phone: (804) 559-3133

Richmond – Reemploy Virginia
Reemployment Office
3100 West Marshall Street
Richmond, Virginia 23230
Phone: (804) 559-3133  

Richmond – Unemployment Express
UI Express Office
4150 Meadowdale Boulevard
Richmond, Virginia 23234
Phone: (804) 559-3133

Managers should be aware that, in general, any employee — whether faculty, classified or hourly — who has worked for VCU may be eligible for unemployment compensation. In addition, if an employee is found to be eligible for unemployment as a result of his or her separation from the university, the benefits paid to that employee by the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) are reimbursed, dollar for dollar, by the university.

Eligibility

The VEC makes a determination as to whether or not any employee is eligible to receive unemployment compensation by looking at several factors, including but not limited to:

• The reason(s) for separation
• The employee’s earnings prior to separation
• The length of time the employee worked for their last and previous employers
• Amount of any severance paid
• Amount of any leave paid

In general, employees will be found qualified to receive unemployment if they lose their job through “no fault of their own,” such as layoffs, hourly employees reaching 1,500 hours, expiration of grant funds or the position being abolished. If an employee quits his or her job, the employee has the burden of proving to the VEC that he or she had “good cause” for leaving. In general, good cause will only be found where the employee can show that he or she was compelled to quit his or her job.

If an employee is discharged from his or her job, the VEC will determine if the employee was terminated for “misconduct” in connection with his or her work. In these cases, the employer has the burden of proving that the employee willfully and/or deliberately violated the employer’s policies or standards of conduct that the employer has the right to expect of his or her employee, or that the employee disregarded the employer’s policies.

Questions?
Managers and employees who have questions or need additional information regarding unemployment compensation should contact VCU Human Resources.