The Virginia Employment Commission announced that unemployment tax rate calculations for 2022 are to exclude unemployment benefits related to the COVID-19 pandemic in a measure signed by Governor Ralph Northam on August 10, 2021.
Under the measure (H.B. 7001), unemployment benefits paid from April 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021 will not be charged to employers’ accounts for the purposes of computing the 2022 state unemployment tax rate. Additionally, the bill states that 2022 unemployment tax rates may not exceed the 2021 rate assigned to a given employer.
H.B. 7001 also outlines plans for federal distributions received from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. $73.6M in funds will be allocated to information technology modernization, call center improvements, security, and claims adjudication to better serve claimants and employers. Another $862M is to be deposited to the Virginia Unemployment Trust Fund that is used to pay unemployment benefits. This is especially pertinent Unemployment Trust Fund levels often dictate unemployment tax rate tables and additional surcharges.
No action is required by employers at this time. As always, we will continue to monitor this situation and provide updates as they become available. If there are any questions please do not hesitate to contact us or visit our website for the latest news and updates.
