ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, January 5, 1996 TAG: 9601050037
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press
The Virginia Employment Commission began processing furloughed federal workers' unemployment compensation claims Thursday.
About 3,100 federal employees in the state have filed for unemployment benefits, said F.W. ``Woody'' Tucker, the commission's chief of benefits.
The VEC had delayed processing the claims, figuring there was little point in paying benefits and then seeking repayment if the White House and Congress ended the partial government shutdown and paid idled workers.
``But you can't leave people in limbo forever,'' Tucker said.
He said furloughed federal workers could begin receiving unemployment checks in less than two weeks.
Spotsylvania County resident Jim Thomas, a curator at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, filed for unemployment benefits last week. He said if the shutdown continues, his family may need to seek delays in bill payments.
``We're being very careful,'' Thomas said. ``The biggest thing is the mortgage.''
He received less than half of his usual paycheck Tuesday and, he said, ``if this goes into the next paycheck, it'll be serious.''
But most federal employees, like Thomas, have not yet sought loans or extensions on bills.
Crestar Bank has offered to help federal employees but has had few takers, spokesman Tony Mattera said. That has been the pattern at other lending institutions and utilities.
Andy Luce of Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Virginia said laid-off federal workers who can't pay their bills should call creditors to explain the situation, then follow up with a letter. Luce said most creditors will work with laid-off debtors.
Both of Virginia's U.S. senators said they would donate their pay from the furlough period to the Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund, a charity that provides no-interest loans to government workers.
Steve Bauer, executive director of the Colorado-based charity, said a flood of requests for help will deplete the fund's $100,000 emergency reserve by next week unless additional contributions are made.
Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala warned Tuesday that food programs for the poor and for elderly shut-ins - including Meals on Wheels - will be in jeopardy soon. She named Virginia among the states in danger. To help make up the shortfall, Virginia is giving local agencies an advance on the state's part of the program.
LENGTH: Medium: 54 linesby CNB