FAQ – Workforce Alabama

Visit the online claimant portal or call 1-866-234-5382 (select option 2).

Visit the online claimant portal or call us:

• Montgomery local area: 334-954-4094
• Birmingham local area: 205-458-2282
• Other areas: 1-800-752-7389.

Call 1-800-361-4524 after 5 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, to schedule a callback for the next day. If you are unable to secure an appointment, please try again on the next day after 5 p.m. You are only allowed one scheduled callback appointment per week.

Visit our website at Report Fraud or call 1-855-234-2856.

Visit our website at Report Fraud or call 1-800-392-8019.

Check our Unemployment FAQ’s first, particularly the “Claims & Benefits” section, and if you don’t find the answer, check the UC General Inquiry.

To contact Card Services directly, please call 1-833-888-2779.

Please email ucoverpayments@workforce.alabama.gov or call 334-956-4000.

Please call 334-956-7308.

Please email partials@workforce.alabama.gov or call 334-956-7481.

Please call 334-954-3502.

Please email disclosureunit@workforce.alabama.gov or call 334-954-4076.

You should receive a Form 1099-G, Certain Government Payments, showing the amount of unemployment compensation paid to you during the year in Box 1, and any federal income tax withheld in Box 4. For more information on unemployment, see Unemployment Benefits in Publication 525.

If you have specific questions about the 1099-G you received, or a missing 1099-G, please email Treasurer@workforce.alabama.gov or call (334) 956-5874.

Please email treasurer@workforce.alabama.gov or call 334-956-5870.

Visit the Hearings and Appeals page on our website.

Please email status@workforce.alabama.gov or call 334-954-4730.

Please email auditcashiering@workforce.alabama.gov or call 334-954-4723.

Please email experiencerating@workforce.alabama.gov or call 334-954-4741.

Please email auditcashiering@workforce.alabama.gov or call 334-954-4701.

Please email auditcashiering@workforce.alabama.gov or call 334-954-4701.

You may file your claim on our online claimaint portal.

You can also file your claim from any touch-tone telephone by calling the Initial Claims Line (toll free) at 1-866-234-5382. Your call will be answered by an electronic Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system, which will ask you some initial questions. You will then be automatically connected to one of our friendly customer service representatives to complete your claim. We recommend that you do not use a cellular telephone for this process because calls may be dropped by your service prior to our system saving the information.

If you are on a temporary lay-off and will be going back to work for the same employer, your employer may have arranged to file your claim at your place of employment. Check with your employer if you think this has been arranged.

You will need your social security number and the name, correct address and dates of employment for your most recent employer. In order to verify your identity, we will also need a driver’s license or state-issued ID card number and your mother’s maiden name. If you are separating from the military, you will need the Member 4 Copy of your DD214. If you are not a citizen of the United States, you must provide us with your work authorization number.

Once your claim is filed, information about your claim is available online in the claimant portal. To help protect your information, the claimant portal uses an authentication process that requires a Google, Microsoft or an Apple account to login. Although you will link your claimant portal to your account, none of your Google, Microsoft or Apple information will be shared with us.

For questions or assistance by phone, please call 800-361-4524 at 5 p.m. Sunday through Thursday for a next-day callback appointment. If you are unable to secure an appointment on one day, please try again the next day. Please keep your phone nearby the entire day of your scheduled callback.

You must have wages in at least two quarters of your qualifying period (base period). The base period is the first four quarters (12 months) of the last five completed quarters from the date your claim is filed.

For example, if your claim was filed effective October 5, 2019, your base period would be the 12-month period beginning July 1, 2018 and ending June 30, 2019. The total of your base period earnings must equal or exceed one and one-half times your highest quarter earnings.

Generally, you must meet certain requirements to be eligible. You must be able to work, available for work, willing to accept suitable work, actively seeking full-time work, and be out of work due to no fault of your own. If you voluntarily quit your job, the burden of proof is on you to show that you quit for a good work-connected reason. If you are terminated or discharged, your employer must show that you were terminated for a work-connected cause as stated in the Alabama UC Law.

If you did not ask for a reduction in hours, it is possible to receive unemployment if you are working and your gross weekly earnings are LESS than your weekly benefit amount. In order to determine what your weekly benefit amount would be, you must file an unemployment claim. If approved, you would report your weekly earnings from Sunday to Saturday each week. If you earn less than your weekly benefit amount, you would receive a reduced payment for the benefit week. Unemployment compensation is paid on a calendar week basis and must be filed during the week you are unemployed or working reduced hours with earnings less than your weekly benefit amount.

No, unemployment compensation will not replace your lost wages by supplementing your lost income due to reduced work hours or a furlough. Whether or not a person is eligible for unemployment benefits is determined by the weekly benefit amount for which you qualify (maximum in Alabama is $275 a week) and your gross weekly earnings. If your gross weekly earnings are less than your weekly benefit amount, you would receive a reduced payment for that week. If your gross weekly earnings are greater than the weekly benefit amount for which you qualify, you will not be eligible for unemployment compensation.

You should file immediately. Your claim will be effective the Sunday proceeding the day that you file for benefits either online or by calling 1-866-234-5382. Your claim is in effect for 365 days from that Sunday.

Benefits per week range from a minimum of $45 to a maximum of $275 (effective January 1, 2020) calculated using your base period earnings. On the day after you file your claim, a form is mailed to you (monetary determination) that lists all of your base period wages by employer and the total and weekly amount to which you may be entitled.

Generally, you will qualify for a set number of full benefit weeks ranging from 14-20 weeks. The maximum amount allowable for the benefit year is based on the unemployment rate. If you return to work or if you have deductible income for any week, you may draw reduced payments and increase the total possible length of time that you can draw. The total amount that you can draw for the year is the maximum benefit amount shown on your monetary determination.

When you contact the call center, a representative can help you determine if you need to combine your wages from other states to file a claim. You will need to be prepared to discuss the last 18 months’ work history for this information to be correct. The call center representative is trained to help you decided what type of claim will benefit you the most, and will provide you with these filing options.

No benefit year is established on ineligible claims. This allows you to file again when your base period changes. Be sure to ask for a specific date as to when the quarters will change so that you can file again as soon as possible if you are still unemployed. If you have worked for cash or received a 1099, this could have affected your unemployment benefits. Please email us at tiphotline@workforce.alabama.gov or call 1-855-234-2856 for help.

If your monetary determination has missing or incorrect wages, telephone 1-800-361-4524 immediately. A request for a re-determination may be needed, in order for us to locate missing or incorrect wages. If you have worked for cash or received a 1099, this could have affected your unemployment benefits. Please email us at tiphotline@workforce.alabama.gov or call 1-855-234-2856 for help.

When you file your weekly certification for benefits, you should report any wages you earn for any work performed during the week you are claiming. Remember, you report your gross earnings during the week in which they are earned, not when they are paid. This is a mistake that could result in an overpayment of benefits.

There are two methods to file your weekly certification. You can file online or you can call the weekly certification number provided to you during your initial claims filing process. In either case, be sure to follow all instructions completely.

You must be available to accept full-time work and be able to perform work in which you have prior training or experience in order to be eligible for any week of benefits.

Weekly and very quickly, if you have followed all of the procedures provided to you, there are no issues to be resolved, and your claim has been cleared for payment. Occasionally, delays may occur but, normally, if you certify before 5 p.m. your payment is made on the next business day after you call in your weekly certification. If your payment seems unusually delayed, contact your Call Center Inquiry line. Remember to allow 48 hours for the payment to be processed by the bank handling your account or Debit Card.

Payments will be made through either direct deposit or the AL Vantage Prepaid Benefits Card based on the option you selected. To access your AL Vantage Card account information, click here.

You may use your new card at any MoneyPass ATM Network location. Please visit the MoneyPass ATM Network website at www.moneypass.com/atm-locator.htmlExternal link opens in a new browser window to find an ATM location near you where you can access your funds at no charge. You may also download the MoneyPass ATM Locator mobile app to search for in-network ATMs on the go.

Read and listen to all of the information that is provided to you. There is a lot of information provided to you when you file your claim. If you do not understand something or you feel something is wrong, ask your customer service representative when you make your claim, or call the Inquiry Line. We are always happy to assist you.

No, drill pay received from participation in National Guard or U.S. Forces Reservists for weekend drills is not reportable income. Unemployment Compensation Law provides for exclusion of this type of pay from being considered deductible income. Any pay for work other than weekend drill is considered deductible income.

No. Federal military wages are only assignable to the state where an ex-service person is physically located when the first claim for unemployment compensation is filed following release from active duty.

No. All wages assignable to the state must be used in the monetary determination.

As a spouse of an active duty member of the military, you may be eligible for unemployment benefits if you leave your job due to the permanent relocation of your military spouse. You will be required to submit proof of the permanent duty station relocation and your spousal relationship. Certain other conditions must be met in order to meet initial eligibility requirements and to remain eligible to receive benefits.

The waiting week was implemented by legislation effective July 2008, as an unpaid period for all unemployment compensation recipients. In the 2012 Alabama legislative session, the waiting week was moved from the 14th payable week to the 1st payable week for all new claims effective on or after August 1, 2012. Even though benefits cannot be paid for the waiting week, for it to count as the waiting week, it must meet the requirements to be payable and a weekly certification must be filed for that period. No funds are deducted from a claim for the waiting week.

Immediately report a lost or stolen card by calling AL Vantage Customer Support at 1-833-888-2779. As long as the card is reported immediately, you are not responsible for unauthorized merchant charges.

Yes, as long as you have not already requested a replacement card. If you have requested a replacement, destroy the old card because it is no longer valid. To verify the balance, call AL Vantage Customer Support at 1-833-888-2779 or go online to your AL Vantage debit card account.

Contact the Legal Division of the Alabama Department of Workforce at 334-956-7470. They will instruct you on how to file for the benefits owed to the deceased.

The Form 1099G is available online for previous tax years. To access the Form 1099G for previous years, you may download it here to print a copy.

For information on benefits paid prior to these tax years, you may either send a written request to:

Alabama Department of Workforce
Unemployment Compensation Division
50 North Ripley Street
Montgomery, AL 36130

or fax the request to 334-956-4074. Your request should include your name, social security number, the year you are requesting and your signature. Please provide your current mailing address or a fax number where you would like the Form 1099G to be returned.

The Form 1099 is based on the date the payment(s) were issued, not the date received. A payment issued in late December might not be received until January.

If you need any written information from your unemployment claim for the purpose of Department of Human Resources (DHR) applications, a mortgage, loan, etc., you will need to complete the Form 480. 

Be sure to follow all instructions on the Form 480. Complete the form and state the purpose for the request, have your signature notarized, include a $10 money order payable to “ADOW” and mail to the central cashier:

Alabama Department of Workforce
Central Cashier
50 North Ripley Street
Montgomery, AL 36130

To print a copy of the Form 480, please click here.

To report suspected fraud, visit the fraud reporting site or call 1-855-234-2856.

Yes. Beginning January 1, 1997, you have the option of having federal withholding taxes withheld at the current rate of 10%.

You may be charged with an overpayment of unemployment benefits, which you will have to repay before any further or future benefits can be paid to you. You may also be disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits.

If you are working and drawing benefits, it will be discovered through a periodic audit of your unemployment claim for benefits.

Your claim for unemployment benefits may be audited, even after your claim ends. Your claim is audited by comparing any weeks where you were paid benefits with any wages reported by your employer during the same time period.

If you are eligible to draw benefits, each week of benefits will be offset automatically as you claim until the full overpayment has been repaid. Overpayments due to fraud cannot be offset and you will not be eligible for benefits until the fraudulent overpayments, penalty and interest are repaid in cash or income tax offsets.

You may repay the full amount or contact Benefit Payment Control at 1-800-392-8019 to arrange monthly payments. Payments can be made online or by personal check, money order or cashier’s check payable to Alabama Department of Workforce and mailed to:

Alabama Department of Workforce
Benefit Payment Control
50 North Ripley Street
Montgomery, AL 36130

Do not forward cash through the mail. Overpayments may also be withheld from state and federal income tax refunds.

Yes. If the overpayment is no fault of your own, a request for waiver of repayment of the overpayment may be approved by the Director. All requests for waiver of repayment of the overpayment must be made in writing by completing a waiver questionnaire and returning the completed questionnaire to the department for review.

Waiver questionnaires may be obtained from:

Alabama Department of Workforce
50 North Ripley Street
Montgomery, AL 36130

Overpayments determined to result from fraudulent intent or appeal reversals will not be waived.

Fraud is a willful intent to make a false statement, misrepresentation or willfully failing to disclose a material fact in order to obtain any benefit payment.

This means that anyone who is found to claim as much as one week of benefits with intent to willfully defraud the state may be charged with fraud. This may be determined either by failing to report earnings while working or failing to report a separation from your job in order to obtain unemployment benefits.

You will be charged with an overpayment of unemployment benefits, which you will have to repay in full before any further or future unemployment benefits can be paid to you. A fraud penalty may also be assessed against your current and/or next subsequent claim for unemployment benefits. This penalty may be a monetary amount of not less than four times your weekly benefit amount and not more than your maximum benefit amount.

A warrant for your arrest may be filed with the county sheriff in the county which you reside for committing the act of fraud. The Unemployment Insurance Law provides that anyone found to have committed fraud in claiming unemployment benefits, whether such payment or benefit is received or not, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. 

If you are convicted in a court of law, each conviction is punishable by a fine of not less than $50 and not more than $500, or imprisonment for not longer than 12 months, or both. Each week claimed shall constitute a separate and distinct offense. A person convicted of fraud is disqualified from voting under Alabama Law.

You may report suspected fraud through the toll-free fraud hotline 1-800-392-8019 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Reported incidents are investigated and you are not required to reveal your identity.