Furloughed employees must meet state eligibility requirements, which can be found on page 4 of the Rights & Responsibilities Handbook.  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.”

According to November 2018 data, 53,200 workers were counted as federal employees in Alabama. Since the beginning of the shutdown on December 22, 2018, ADOL has received approximately 242 unemployment compensation benefit applications from federal workers, including those affected by the shutdown and those who were laid off for other reasons.

Employees should be prepared to provide verification of their wages, as ADOL may not be able to confirm wages with affected federal agencies. Valid documents include pay stubs or W-2’s.

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.