Furloughed federal employees able to apply for unemployment in Alabama

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WCBI/ADOL) – The Alabama Department of Labor has announced that federal employees who have been furloughed by the partial government shutdown can apply for unemployment compensation benefits.

Furloughed employees must meet Alabama’s eligibility requirements.

Eligibility requirements can be found on page four of the Rights and & Responsibilities handbook at https://www.labor.alabama.gov.

In Alabama, unemployment compensation benefits weekly amounts range from a minimum of $45 to a maximum of $265, and are available for up to 26 weeks.

“There are thousands of federal employees in Alabama who may be impacted by this shutdown,” said Fitzgerald Washington, Secretary of the Alabama Department of Labor.  “Should these workers need assistance during this time, I would encourage them to apply for unemployment compensation benefits.”

ADOL said that employees seeking unemployment benefits should bring a W-2 or paystub with them to verify wages.

Should the affected employees receive back pay at a later date, any benefits received would need to be repaid to ADOL, as required by law.

Payment plans can be arranged by contacting the agency.