Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Labor has announced the temporary closure of select phone lines dealing with existing claims only for Thursday, March 26. This will impact the following phone lines:
Claimant Assistance Line: 1-877-214-3332 – CLOSED
Employer Assistance Line: 1-877-214-3331 – CLOSED
Employer Services Line: 1-802-828-4344 - CLOSED
As soon as all electronic claims have been processed, these phone lines will reopen. The closure of these lines will not impede those looking to establish a new claim over the phone or electronically. The following lines will be operating as normal, with hours from 8:15am-6:00pm on Thursday, March 26:
Initial Claims Line: 1-877-214-3330 – OPEN AS SCHEDULED
Supplemental Claims Line: 1-888-807-7072 – OPEN AS SCHEDULED
Electronically Establish a Claim Online: LABOR.VERMONT.GOV
The closure of these select lines is in response the high number of initial claims that have been established electronically on the Department’s website between March 16 and March 23. Staff from the Unemployment Insurance Division will use this time to process these claims in order to ensure claimants can file for weekly benefits before 4:00pm on Friday, March 27.
Through its continued effort to ensure those looking to establish their initial claim for unemployment benefits can do so efficiently and effectively, the Department of Labor has updated its online application. The application form can now be found at
https://vermont.force.com/DOLClaim/s/.
Please note that the update does not impact those who completed the application using the previous version.
Effective immediately, and pursuant to 21 V.S.A. § 1343 and Employment Security Board Rule 11, all official work search requirements are suspended until further notice. This applies to all unemployment insurance claimants, not just those that have a return to work date.
This action is being taken to mitigate the risk associated with work search efforts as they relate to the COVID-19 Pandemic and the guidance provided by the Center for Disease Control and the Vermont Department of Health.
Further updates will be provided at labor.vermont.gov.
Source: VT DOL 3.26.2020