Virginians who find themselves out of work from the impact of the COVID-19 crisis can access benefits with the Virginia Employment Commission.

Most Virginians who are furloughed, laid off or whose hours have been drastically cut will be eligible for benefits.

The U.S. Department of Labor provided guidance on March 12 to state workforce agencies, including in Virginia, on interpreting benefits related to the impact of COVID-19. In the guidance, the department offered direction on how states can be flexible in awarding benefits.

The Labor Department confirmed that states can treat temporary shut-downs as layoffs as well as anyone who is quarantined. However, a person on paid leave is not unemployed for purposes of receiving benefits, according to the department’s guidance.

Effective March 15, Virginia waived the one-week waiting period to receive benefits. This means that Virginians will receive benefits sooner.

In addition, to receive benefits a claimant generally must demonstrate that he or she is actively searching for work. But Virginia waived the requirement that claimants demonstrate job seeking while receiving benefits.

In addition, the VEC now will award benefits to a self-employed individual who has been paying unemployment insurance, as a result of the Gov. Ralph Northam’s recent executive order.

To access benefits, an eligible worker should apply at www.vec.virginia.gov — and the sooner the better.

For example, if an employee is notified on Thursday, March 22, of a layoff, that worker should file a separation report that night. The effective date of the claim will be the Sunday beginning the week of the claim, so in this case that was March 15.

To make sure that impacted individuals receive payment as soon as possible, the laid-off worker needs to identify “lack of work” as the reason for separation. If direct deposit is available, the person could receive the funds within three business days the following week.

Unemployment payments, however, likely will not provide full income replacement. Virginia law sets the rate for weekly benefits in a complex table that provides for limits on compensation and duration.

For instance, a person with an annual salary of more than $37,800 would be eligible for weekly compensation cap of only $378 for up to 26 weeks within a 52-week period. While unemployment benefits can provide some relief, it is not designed to be full income replacement.

Employers who can offer paid leave in lieu of a layoff will help employees more than encouraging unemployment benefits.

The VEC went from seeing record low unemployment to the potential for a mass influx.

Jobless claims in Virginia increased 16 times more for the week that ended March 21 compared with the week before.

In the Richmond region, claims soared 2,480% week-over-week to 7,489 claims, up from 294 the week before.

This dramatic increase has put a strain on the system, so the VEC said using online resources will be the quickest way to receive benefits.