Youngkin to revamp Virginia Employment Commission

Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin traveled through Virginia during the weekend on a "Thank You" tour.

Youngkin and his team are busy building his incoming administration and although there is not much information available on his policies here is what we know. One of the major worries with Youngkin's administration was that they would pull back the protections given to the LGBTQ+ community especially pertaining to employment and housing. He confirmed that this will not be a concern, the administration is going to primarily focus on tax reduction, higher educational standards, and better law enforcement for community protection. 

Another pain point that was brought up during this interview is the state and functioning of the Virginia Employment Commission. The Commission has been struggling since the beginning, especially with the rollout of unemployment benefits adding pressure. According to sources, as of August 2021, VEC had a backlog of 1 million unemployment insurance claims to examine. The people of Virginia have time and again complained about the inefficiencies of the VEC. They eventually promised the launch of a new unemployment system whose rollout has been delayed multiple times. Overall, the VEC has been facing issues due to staffing, efficiency, and leadership. Youngkin confirmed that the VEC is at the top of his list, they are going to implement " a new way of doing things". The Governor-elect plans to have a new result-focused management system involving metrics and the comparison of metrics to determine problematic areas. This should according to him, deliver optimal results. 

Source: CBS 6 News Richmond (wtvr.com)