VIPCA has received the following guidelines for Unemployment Insurance and Layoff of Employees:
On March 13, 2020, Governor Albert Bryan, Jr. declared the State of Emergency. This has triggered access to additional resources to combat the outbreak. DOL is ready to assist your employees while using the recommended precautions from the Governor of the Virgin Islands, the Health Department, and the Center for Disease Control. We are implementing safety precautions to allow us to continue to assist the public while ensuring the safety of our internal staff. We are using the recommended social distancing feet, which was recently moved to 10 feet.
Any employer that needs to reduce hours give furloughs, layoffs, or a possible reduction in hours, the Virgin Islands Department of Labor is requesting that employers do the following:
- Send a letter to the Office of the Commissioner that includes the names of the affected employees in advance of the reduction of hours to twenty (20) a week, discharge or layoff.
- Timely file your quarterly reports.
- Send a notice to the employee with the reason for the separation before reducing in hours, discharge, or layoff. (See layoff template)
- Have employees complete the application.
