- Acquisition
- Actively seeking work
- Agricultural Labor
- Audit
- Base Period
- Benefit Year
- Calendar Quarter
- Claimant
- Corporation
- Delinquent Employer
- Double Dip Claim
- Duration of Benefits
- Eligibility Review Program
- Employer
- Employing Unit
- Employment
- Experience Rating
- Extended Benefits (EB)
- FUTA (Federal Unemployment Tax Act)
- Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN)
- Inactive Account
- Insolvent
- Insured Employment
- Interest
- Last Thirty-Day Employer
- Liability Date
- Maximum Benefit Amount
- Overpayment
- PIN
- Quality Control Program
- Reemployment Assistance
- Suitable work
- Tax Report
- Unemployment
- Waiting Week
- Week
- Weekly Benefit Amount (WBA)
- Acquisition - The transaction by which an individual or organization obtains the organization, trade, business, or assets of another individual or organization and, thereby, becomes subject to the Virginia Unemployment Compensation Act. §60.2-210
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- Actively seeking work - “Actively seeking work” means that you personally visit several employers each week in your efforts to find work. You are required to provide the VEC, when requested, with information about each employer or company you visit while seeking work. These visits are called job contacts.
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- Agricultural Labor - Any services performed on a farm or in farm-related work in the handling, planting, drying, packing, packaging, processing, freezing, grading, storing, or delivering to storage or to market of any agricultural or horticultural commodity. §60.2-201
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- Audit - A formal, official examination and verification of the records of an employer.
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- Base Period - The base period is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters prior to the effective date of your claim. If your claim is filed in January, February, or March 2009, your base period is October 2007 through September 2008. If your claim is filed in April, May, or June 2009, your base period is January 2008 through December 2008. If your claim is filed in July, August, or September 2009, your base period is April 2008 through March 2009. If your claim is filed in October, November, or December 2009, your base period is July 2008 through June 2009. The wages earned in the base period determine your monetary entitlement. Determine your base period.
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- Benefit Year - The fifty-two-week period beginning with the first day of the week in which an individual files a new claim. §60.2-206
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- Calendar Quarter - The period of three consecutive calendar months ending on March 31st, June 30th, September 30th, or December 31st.
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- Claimant - An unemployed individual who files a claim for unemployment compensation.
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- Corporation - An entity formed and authorized by law to operate and conduct business in the same manner as an individual.
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- Delinquent Employer - An employer who has failed to submit required quarterly tax reports, payments, interest, and/or penalties by the due dates. §60.2-513, §60.2-538
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- Double Dip Claim - If you drew benefits in a prior benefit year and have not worked as many as 30 days or 240 hours for one employer since the beginning of that year, you may monetarily qualify for a new benefit year, but you will not be eligible to draw those benefits until you have 30 days or 240 hours of employment and are subsequently unemployed.
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- Duration of Benefits - The number of total weeks of benefits a claimant may potentially draw during a benefit year. §60.2-602, §60.2-607
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- Eligibility Review Program - This program helps us offer you assistance in searching for work and enables us to make sure you are still meeting the eligibility requirements. When you receive an Eligibility Review Questionnaire, it is important that you complete the form and the Record of Contacts for Employment and report as scheduled to the VEC Workforce Center. Failure to do so may result in the delay of denial of your benefits.
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- Employer - An employing unit that meets the liability requirements under the law and is required to pay unemployment insurance taxes. §60.2-210
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- Employing Unit - Any individual, organization, or governmental entity that has one or more individuals performing services for it within the state. §60.2-211
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- Employment - Any service performed by an individual for remuneration under any written or oral contract of hire with an employing unit. §60.2-212 (For references on exemptions to "employment," see Section §60.2-219.)
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- Experience Rating - A system used to establish employer tax rates based on past employment and unemployment experience. §60.2-530, §60.2-531
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- Extended Benefits (EB) - Unemployment benefits paid to a claimant after regular benefits have been exhausted, during periods of prescribed high national or state unemployment levels. §60.2-610, §60.2-611
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- FUTA (Federal Unemployment Tax Act) - The tax imposed by the federal government on employers with respect to having individuals in their employ. §60.2-218Back to top
- Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) - The registration number assigned by the Internal Revenue Service to an employer.
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- Inactive Account - Status assigned to an employer’s account when it has been found that the employer no longer has employees and, therefore, no payroll report or taxes to submit.
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- Insolvent - The condition of a legal entity that is unable to pay its debts.
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- Insured Employment - Term used to describe employment covered by the Unemployment Compensation Act of Virginia or any other state.
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- Interest - Monetary charge, which is computed and added to the amount of taxes, owed and remaining unpaid after the date such taxes were due. §60.2-519
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- Last Thirty-Day Employer - The most recent employer for whom a claimant performed services for any part of a day for thirty days, whether or not such days were consecutive, or a total of 240 hours.Back to top
- Liability Date - The date that an employer meets the statutory criteria for liability coverage with the Virginia Employment Commission.
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- Maximum Benefit Amount - The total amount of benefits that an individual may receive during his benefit year. (This amount is determined by multiplying his weekly benefit amount and the number of weeks of benefits for which he may qualify.) §60.2-607
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- Overpayment - An overpayment means unemployment insurance benefits paid to and received by you to which you were not entitled. This includes amounts paid while an appeal by your former employer is pending prior to a decision being rendered against you, and amounts paid because you did not notify the VEC of information which would have reduced or eliminated your benefit entitlement. You also are required to repay any benefits that are paid to you in error.
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- PIN - It is your personal identification number. You must use it each time you claim your weekly benefits through the VRS. You will be asked to provide the last four digits if you make a telephone inquiry about your claim. Your PIN will be sent to you in a separate mailing after your file your claim. It is very important that you keep the number confidential and do not share it.
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- Quality Control Program - This program is designed to detect and correct both error and fraud in the unemployment insurance program. It is a review of the records of a sample group of claimants, selected at random, to test the accuracy of the payments they received. You will be notified to report to the VEC Workforce Center if your claim is selected for review. Failure to report may result in the delay or denial of your benefits.
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- Reemployment Assistance - Your claim will be reviewed to determine if you may need special reemployment assistance to make a successful transition to new employment. If you meet the federally mandated criteria, you will be referred to this assistance. If you are referred, you will be required to attend as a condition of eligibility to receive weekly benefits. If you refuse to or do not attend without justifiable cause, you may be denied benefits.
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- Suitable work - Many factors are taken into consideration in determining whether work is suitable. These factors include your previous work experience, your physical and mental fitness, risk to your health, safety, or morals, and the distance from your home. You must report all job offers that you decline when you file your weekly claim for benefits.
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- Tax Report - The portion of the Employer’s Quarterly Report (Forms VEC FC-20/21) that states the total wages paid, the amount of taxable wages, and taxes due by the employer for the quarter covered by this report.§60.2-512
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- Unemployment - An individual is totally "unemployed" during any week in which he performs no services and with respect to which no wages are payable to him; he is partially “unemployed” if he works less than his full-time hours and receives less wages than his weekly benefit amount. §60.2-226
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- Waiting Week - The first week of eligibility in a claim year is a waiting week and is not paid. Only one waiting period week is served in a benefit claim year. §60.2-612.9
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- Week - Seven consecutive days beginning on Sunday and ending the following Saturday at midnight. §60.2-230
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- Weekly Benefit Amount (WBA) - The weekly benefits payable to a totally unemployed individual. The amount is based on prior earnings. §60.2-602
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