April 2, 2020
via email
The Honorable James C. Justice
Governor
State of West Virginia
1900 Kanawha Boulevard East
Charleston, WV 25301
Dear Governor Justice:

First of all, thank you, Commissioner Adkins and all of the employees at WorkForce West Virginia
who are working overtime to process an unprecedented number of claims. We appreciate the work
that WorkForce is doing to help West Virginians who are hurting because of the COVID-19 crisis.
As WorkForce is inundated with claims, we wanted to pass along ideas that have been shared with
us that may help expedite processing of unemployment claims.
▪ We understand that employees have been added and work hours have been extended. As
space is limited and employees should be practicing social distancing, workers should be
allowed to work remotely. This would allow employees to answer calls and process applications
from the safety of their own homes. Proper technology and security should be put in place to
allow for this workforce expansion.
▪ The State should also look at how they can add a night shift to continue processing claims. We
understand that the system needs some downtime to allow for updates and processing, but an
additional shift could help alleviate the workload, ensure employees are properly protected and
get these pending applications processed for West Virginia residents.
▪ As an incentive, the State should also look at offering bonus pay for workers willing to move to
WorkForce and streamline personnel rules to allow for quick hiring of new workers.
Thank you for your consideration of these suggestions. We appreciate all that you are doing to help
out-of-work West Virginians and stand ready to help how we can.
Sincerely,
House Minority Leader Tim Miley (Harrison)
Delegate Mike Caputo (Marion)
Delegate Cindy Lavender-Bowe (Greenbrier)
Delegate Amanda Estep-Burton (Kanawha)
Delegate Rodney Miller (Boone)
cc: Scott Adkins, Commissioner, WorkForce WV

Delegate Mike Pushkin (Kanawha)
Delegate Cody Thompson (Randolph)
Delegate Isaac Sponaugle (Pendleton)
Delegate Shawn Fluharty (Ohio)