Democrats on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted yesterday (Tuesday) to send a letter to state leaders, asking for expanded unemployment coverage for federal workers having lost their jobs due to downsizing.
The maximum weekly Virginia unemployment-compensation rate of $378 is “one of the lowest in the country,” according to Braddock District Supervisor James Walkinshaw.
He and his eight Democratic colleagues voted to send the letter to Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Virginia General Assembly leaders. The Board’s lone Republican, Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity, was away from the meeting due to health issues.
This is the third letter that Fairfax County supervisors have sent to the governor this year, asking for his support to blunt impacts of the Trump administration’s efforts to reshape the federal government.
This time, the action appears to be part of a coordinated regional initiative.
“Other jurisdictions are going to make the same request,” Board Chair Jeff McKay said.
The letter lays out potential options available to state leaders:
Improvements could include dedicating a portion of the commonwealth’s surplus to provide an additional $600 per month to those affected by these federal cuts, mirroring the supplemental benefits extended during the COVID-19 pandemic. This benefit should extend to all Virginia residents impacted by federal cuts, including part-time, self-employed and gig workers, and those whose place of employment is outside of Virginia.
Northern Virginia is home to about 175,000 federal workers who could be at risk of Trump-administration cuts, Fairfax County officials say. Some predict the impact on the region could be similar to the initial blast of the pandemic in 2020.
“This feels very much like that,” McKay said, urging state lawmakers to “increase benefits for the people that need them most.”
The General Assembly is set to reconvene April 2 to take action on any bills vetoed or amended by Youngkin and finalize updates to the Commonwealth’s budget. The Fairfax County board’s letter asks state leaders to siphon off some of the budget surplus to augment unemployment payments.
Walkinshaw said the federal government is obligated to reimburse states for the costs associated with federal government layoffs. Increasing benefits for federal workers “will cost the commonwealth nothing,” he said.
“We are leaving huge amounts, potentially, of federal dollars on the table,” Walkinshaw said.
That extra federal funding would only apply to laid-off federal workers, not contractors or others in the private sector. There’s also the possibility that the Trump administration might try to avoid distributing the funding to localities.
Compared to its immediate neighbors, Virginia does have the lowest maximum weekly unemployment payout. Current comparable rates are $430 in Maryland, $444 in D.C. and $630 in West Virginia, according to federal data.
Those who have lost their jobs typically file for benefits in the locality where those jobs were located. As a result, many Northern Virginians affected by the cutbacks and a potential economic shortfall would likely file in jurisdictions with higher compensation levels.
