Virginia is once again showing why it's such a great state in which to live. Besides the proximity to the nation's capital, the historical importance of Jamestown and Williamsburg and the beauty of its rural areas, its social policies are a notch above for all of us who aren't business owners.
There's now a new reason to add, according to this article on the Society for Human Resource Management's web site.
An appeals court has recently ruled the people working on fixed contracts are entitled to unemployment benefits. In other words, if you were hired for a job for 6 months or a seasonal job, you are entitled to unemployment at the end of your contract. Hitherto, people in this position have not been eligible for any sort of benefit.
This ruling will be welcome news to the large number of people who work as non-salaried temps, perform seasonal work, or do any other type of independent contracting.
Such initiatives are hardly surprising from a state that requires free vaccinations for all children and offers mandatory minimum health care for all its residents (where the premium is based purely on your zip code), etc.
Having lived there several years, Virginia always struck me as a state that was in many ways both ahead of its time or much closer to its European ancestry than others. I'll now patiently wait to see how many other states follow suit and protect what is a large swatch of the American workforce from the dangers of unemployment.
