Employees like freelancers and the self-employed can now file for an unemployment claim in Alabama, the Alabama Department of Labor said Tuesday, under the CARES Act, the coronavirus response bill passed by Congress and signed by the president last week.
The Alabama Department of Labor is encouraging employees who believe they may qualify for programs under the CARES Act to file a claim.
These employees will also need to certify weekly to continue to let the department know that they remain unemployed.
Although ADOL does not yet have technical guidance or a start date regarding the CARES Act programs, benefits may be paid retroactively from the time the employee separated from his or her job or otherwise became eligible under the federal CARES Act, not from the time the application was submitted or approved.
In Alabama, many freelancers, independent contractors and the self-employed are not typically able to file for unemployment insurance.
Last week, more than 70,000 people filed an initial jobless claim. Claims can be filed online at www.labor.alabama.gov or by calling 1-866-234-5382.
The Department of Labor is asking for patience when trying to file a claim.
ADOL says employees who may be affected include:
- The self-employed
- Church employees
- Non-profit and governmental employees
- Independent contractors
- Gig economy workers
- Those who have exhausted their regular UI benefits.
These employees should also meet one of these conditions:
- The individual has been diagnosed; or
- A member of the individual’s household has been diagnosed; or
- The individual is providing care to a household or family member; or
- A child or other person for which the individual has primary caregiving responsibility is unable to attend school or another facility as a result of COVID-19; or
- The individual is unable to reach the place of employment because of a quarantine imposed as a result of the COVID-19 public health emergency; or
- The individual is unable to reach the place of employment because the individual has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine; or
- The individual was scheduled to start work and does not have a job as a result of COVID-19; or
- The individual has become “the breadwinner or major support for a household because the head of the household has died as a direct result of COVID-19”; or
- The individual has to quit their job because of COVID-19; or
- The individual’s place of employment is closed because of COVID-19.
This list is not exhaustive.
Further details regarding the CARES Act programs will be forthcoming, the department says, including information regarding Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, which provides for an additional $600 a week in unemployment compensation benefits.
The additional $600 weekly benefit will only be available for weeks beginning March 29, 2020
