Annette Sutton talks about her difficulties with the Virginia Employment Commission and her unemployment benefits Virginia Employment Commissioner Ellen Marie Hess knew the stateâs unemployment insurance system faced a potential reckoning when she and her top deputy met with their new boss, then-Secretary of Commerce and Trade Todd Haymore, more than five years ago. It was a routine briefing for the new secretary by Hess, who had been appointed commissioner the previous year by Gov. Terry McAuliffe, but Haymore was startled by her candid assessment of the systemâs vulnerabilities. âThey told me, this is what you need to know: if times turn bad, weâre going to react to it, but weâve been underfunded,â he said.