Labor Department clarifies reports about unemployment payments

Labor Department clarifies reports about unemployment payments

By Josh Boutwell

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Over the last several weeks a number of Alabamians have bombarded the Alabama Department of Labor’s call centers and social media accounts after they stopped receiving unemployment payments.

Some of these reports have alleged that individuals were told that the state simply couldn’t afford to continue to make the payments and that the reason those payments have stopped is that the state is “broke.”

The Sun spoke with Labor Department spokesperson Tara Hutchison on Oct. 20 in an attempt to clarify the situation.

“We keep hearing this and seeing this in our social media and it’s just not true,” Hutchison emphasized. “We can’t seem to pin down who or where they are actually hearing this from. I think there is some miscommunication going on somewhere.”

Hutchison said those individuals that have stopped receiving unemployment payments have simply exhausted their available payments.

Unemployed Alabamians receive up to 14 weeks of what is considered “regular unemployment compensation.” After the CARES Act was passed into law by Congress Alabamians were provided with an additional 13 weeks of unemployment benefits.

Also, during the pandemic Alabama’s “insured unemployment rate” rose above 5.9 percent and triggered a federal Extended Benefits program that provides up to an additional 13 weeks of unemployment.

The Extended Benefits program expired on Oct. 3 after Alabama’s “insured unemployment rate” dropped below 5.9 percent.

Hutchison said she believes part of the miscommunication could be coming from those individuals that had already exhausted their 14 weeks of regular unemployment and the 13 weeks from the CARES Act thinking that they would continue to get payments because of the Extended Benefits Program, not realizing it expired on Oct. 3.

Additionally, both the original $600 extra unemployment benefit passed by Congress and the extra $300 benefit passed by executive order have since expired.

Some Alabamians are also eligible to get an additional five weeks of unemployment compensation if enrolled in an approved training class, and also Hutchison pointed out that there is also a Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program that individuals that have exhausted their unemployment can sign up for.

Hutchison said to qualify for that program an individual must have lost their job as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

If a person qualifies for the PUA program then they can receive up to 39 weeks of up to $275 per week, but all regular unemployment, EB payments and training weeks already received will be deducted from the eligible PUA weeks.

Hutchison said that after all of those options have been exhausted, Alabamians have no other unemployment options unless Congress passes another bill that extends unemployment benefits during the pandemic.

The Alabama Department of Labor posts regular updates on Twitter at @al_labor.