Where Is the Unemployment Office in Charlottesville, VA?
Do you need to file for unemployment benefits in Albemarle County, Virginia? Do you have questions about your claim? You can find the information you need at the website of the Virginia Employment Commission, the state agency that administers unemployment benefits in Virginia.
If you haven’t applied for unemployment benefits recently (or ever), you might think you have to go into the local unemployment office and file your claim in person. These days, however, it’s much easier – and often, required – to file your claim online or by phone.
On this page, you'll find
contact information for the Virginia Employment Commission
contact information for local job centers, which can help you with your job search and may offer assistance in filing for unemployment benefits, and
links to our articles on how to file for benefits in Virginia, eligibility for benefits in Virginia, calculating your weekly benefit amount in Virginia, and more.
Contacting the Unemployment Office in Albemarle County
If you want to file a claim for benefits, check on your claim, speak to a representative, or manage your unemployment benefits application, contact the
To reach your local unemployment office in Virginia by phone, use the following numbers:
Alexandria: 703-746-5990
Lynchburg: 434-947-2370
Richmond: 804-652-3241
Roanoke: 540-613-8220
All other areas: 866-832-2363
Find contact information for local unemployment offices in Virginia at the Local Offices page of the Virginia Employment Commission website.
Contacting Your Local Job Center
Local job centers -- sometimes called One-Stop Career Centers or American Job Centers --can help you with cover letters, resumes, and job search efforts. Some job centers may provide assistance in filing for unemployment benefits. You may be required to register with a job center as part of your ongoing obligation to look for work while collecting benefits.
Contact your job center to find out about services and availability. Although some job centers provide unemployment services (for example, help in filing or managing your claim), others offer only job search assistance. And, some centers are closed, have limited hours, or are available only online due to the coronavirus pandemic. Call or email your local job center to find out about their offerings.
How to Collect Unemployment Benefits in Albemarle County, Virginia
Virginia Unemployment Benefits at a Glance
Virginia Benefits Eligibility
You are eligible for unemployment benefits in Virginia if you are out of work through no fault of your own and you have earned at least a minimum amount in the time before you lost your job.
To qualify for benefits in Virginia, you must have earned wages in at least two quarters of the base period, and you must have earned at least $3,000 in your two highest paid quarters of the base period combined.
Virginia Unemployment Benefit Amount
In Virginia, you can look up your weekly benefit amount in the chart Benefit Table.
The maximum weekly benefit in Virginia is $378 per week.
How Long Your Unemployment Benefits Will Last in Virginia
In Virginia, you can receive unemployment benefits for a maximum of 26 weeks under state law.
For More Information
If you have questions or need more information on unemployment benefits in Virginia, check out our detailed articles on:
how to apply for unemployment benefits in Virginia
Unemployment benefits are payments made by the state to people who are temporarily out of work through no fault of their own. They are intended to partially replace your lost wages while you look for a new job.
Taxes paid by employers in Virginia fund the program and employers may not deduct these taxes from employee wages. If an employer asks you to agree to have the unemployment insurance tax deducted from your wages, you can refuse. Such an agreement is not enforceable.
The extended and expanded unemployment benefits that were available through the CARES Act ended as of September 6, 2021. Some states have also changed their rules to cover those who are out of work due to COVID-19 .
More information about unemployment benefits in Virginia can be found on the website of the Virginia Employment Commission.
Under normal circumstances, you qualify for unemployment benefits if you:
lost your job through no fault of your own
worked during the "base period" required by Virginia unemployment law before you lost your job
earned enough in the base period to qualify for benefits, and
worked for an employer required to pay into the Virginia Unemployment Trust Fund (most employers have to pay into the fund with only a few exceptions).
You may qualify for unemployment benefits even if you quit your last job, as long as you quit for a reason that is recognized as good cause to quit by the Virginia Employment Commission.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, some states have expanded their unemployment insurance programs to provide benefits to people affected by the outbreak. If your state has changed its rules in this way, you may be eligible for state benefits if you are out of work for reasons related to the coronavirus. The federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program, which provided benefits for people who were themselves affected or whose family members were affected by COVID-19, ended as of September 6, 2021.
Each state has its own formula for determining your weekly benefit amount: how much money you will receive each week as your unemployment benefit. Typically, your weekly benefit amount is some percentage of your earnings during the entire base period or the quarter of the base period in which you were paid the most.
In Virginia, you can look up your weekly benefit amount in the chart Benefit Table.
State law determines how long unemployment benefits last. In the past, virtually all states offered up to 26 weeks of unemployment benefits. In recent years, however, some states have shortened these entitlements.
In Virginia, you can receive unemployment benefits for a maximum of 26 weeks under state law.
If you are still unemployed when your Virginia benefits run out, you may be eligible for extended benefits. These benefits are available for an extra 13 to 20 weeks (depending on your state's rules) during times of high unemployment. See How Long Will My Unemployment Benefits Last in Virginia for details on these programs.
The base period is the length of time used both to determine your eligibility for unemployment benefits and to calculate the amount you will receive.
In Virginia, the base period is the first four of the five complete calendar quarters immediately before you filed for benefits. For example, if you file for benefits on March 15, 2024, your base period will be from October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2023. It would not include the most recent complete calendar quarter before you filed (October 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023) or the first two-and-a-half months of 2024.
If you did not earn enough to qualify for benefits during the regular base period, you may be able to use an alternate base period that counts more recent earnings. In Virginia, the alternate base period is the last four complete calendar quarters before you file for benefits.
In response to the coronavirus outbreak, some states are limiting or barring people from gathering in public places. This may affect your access to the physical office of the Virginia Employment Commission in person. Check the Virginia unemployment insurance agency website for more information.
You can apply for unemployment benefits in Virginia a couple of ways:
Checklist: Information You'll Need to File for Unemployment
Whether you file for unemployment online, in person, or by phone, use this checklist to make sure you have all of the information and documents you'll need:
basic personal information, including your name, address, phone number, and Social Security number
information on all employers you have worked for in the last year and a half, including the company's name, address, and phone number; the start and end dates of your employment; and your earnings
the last date you worked for your previous employer
the reason why you are no longer working for your previous employer
information on payments you are receiving or expect to receive from your previous employer, such as severance pay, and
if you are not a United States Citizen, your alien registration number.
You can find out whether you'll need additional documents or information by contacting the Virginia Employment Commission.
When Did Virginia Cut Off Coronavirus Unemployment Benefits?
As of September 6, 2021, coronavirus unemployment benefits have expired. This means they are not available in any state, for weeks of unemployment beginning September 6 or later. To learn more, see Coronavirus Unemployment Benefits No Longer Available.
Here at Legal Consumer, we want to help people find answers to everyday legal questions about important topics like bankruptcy, Obamacare, inheritance, and more.
Now, we’ve turned our attention to employment law. Because, while almost everyone has (or has had) a job, it can be surprisingly tough to get good, high-quality local information about workplace rights.
We'll be adding new topics over time, but we’ve started with unemployment benefits. If you’ve recently lost your job, unemployment benefits can be a real lifesaver. They replace some of your income, temporarily, while you look for a new job. But not everyone qualifies for benefits, and the amount and duration of benefits can vary a lot from state to state.
On this website, when you choose your state or enter your zip code, you will quickly learn:
who is eligible for unemployment benefits
how to apply for unemployment in your state
how much you can expect to receive each week
what to do if your claim for benefits is denied
and more.
We want to make it as easy as possible for you to get the information, forms, and resources you need to get the unemployment benefits you’re entitled to and move on with your job search.