Gov. Ralph Northam is trying to speed up Virginia’s unemployment claim process amid a lawsuit claiming that the Virginia Employment Commission failed to reach residents with benefits and abruptly cut off payments to others without explanation.

Northam has directed $20 million to the Virginia Employment Commission to add 300 staff members, make technology upgrades, and modernize the employment insurance system by Oct. 1. For years, the commonwealth’s unemployment system has been underfunded; it ranks 51 out of 53 states and territories for the amount of federal funding it receives.

“The [underfunding] problem was hidden by years of low unemployment and a consistently strong economy, and the pandemic has highlighted this reality,” reads a statement from Northam’s office.

Regardless, Northam said in the statement that the commonwealth is a national leader—ranking 6th in the country—for getting unemployment benefits to eligible residents.

“But it’s clear that complex cases must be resolved more quickly,” Northam said in the statement. “This action will address many of the issues that have caused delays and ensure that we continue to deliver relief to Virginians who need it.”

In addition to the funding, Northam also released a directive to the commission to increase the number of claims processed per week from 5,700 currently to 10,000 by June 30 and 20,000 by July 31. The directive also states that the commission will need to coordinate with the commonwealth’s department of human resources to find employees from other state agencies to help process claims and continue to hire staff and enhance technology to improve call wait times.

Northam’s directive was released just hours after a mediation which resulted in a tentative agreement between the commission and the legal groups who filed the lawsuit, including the Legal Aid Justice Center, Legal Aid Works, the Virginia Poverty Law Center.

“We’re happy that the governor and the VEC have now decided that we really need to take action on this,” Jeff Jones, a spokesperson for the Legal Aid Justice Center. “We’re super happy that we’re seeing positive steps in the right direction.”

District Court Judge Henry Hudson, who oversaw the mediation, is expected to enter an enforceable order later this week which will be similar to Northam’s directive. The mediation agreement also requires that the VEC share data that is currently not made public, including how many individuals are waiting for their claims to be processed. If the mediation agreement is not followed by the VEC, the judge has the authority to determine consequences and possible further litigation.

More than 1.6 million unemployment claims have been filed since March of last year, according to VEC data. During the first week of May there were more than 11,000 claims filed, bringing the total number of continued claims to roughly 57,800.

Virginia isn’t the only state where unemployment claims have been delayed. During the pandemic, residents in the District and Maryland have had to wait weeks and sometimes months for relief.