by Alabama News Network Staff

Alabama Department of Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington announced today that ADOL has disbursed more than $372 million in unemployment compensation benefits. Alabama is now paying benefits under all three programs covered in the CARES Act: Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC).

$372,344,837 has been paid to 178,761 claimants over the period covering March 16 – April 24, 2020. This represents 511,594 weeks paid.

$247,872,000 of those funds are FPUC, the $600 stimulus benefit added to weekly unemployment compensation benefits.

$3,264,249 represent PUA funds, and $1,884,959 represent PEUC funds.

ADOL has issued payments to 64% of those filing COVID-19 related claims since March 16, 2020.

Item COVID TOTAL Total Active Claims 232,529 324,884 Claimants Filing 315,676 351,248 Initial Claims Filed 358,498 398,326 Weekly Certifications Filed 603,465 758,686 Weeks Paid 398,730 511,594 Claimants Paid 149,593 178,761 Benefits Paid $304,521,790 $372,344,837

UI Program Total Payments Regular UI $119,323,629 FPUC $247,872,000 PUA $3,264,249 PEUC $1,884,959 Total $372,344,837

“Alabama is one of the first states in the nation to pay all of the new programs enacted by Congress with passage of the CARES Act,” said Washington. “More than $370 million in benefits has been disbursed to date, helping Alabamians recover much needed funds lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“We know that many people have still not been paid, and we understand that frustration,” continued Washington. “We are listening to the complaints and concerns and continue to work to modify our systems to make them more user friendly, and to make this process move faster. We continue to ask for patience as we work expeditiously.”

Additionally, starting tomorrow, a new tool added to the UI Claims Tracker will enable claimants who are eligible for PUA benefits to access their PUA document directly from the UI Claims Tracker and to upload their income documents from their personal device, which will significantly speed up the processing of PUA claims. Those who have already submitted documents via mail, email, or fax have the option of resubmitting through the tracker. Detailed instructions regarding this process have now been added to the COVID-19 resource page.

Claimants can track their claims status by using the UI Claims Tracker, which can be located at https://uiclaimstracker.labor. alabama.gov/. Additionally, information and FAQs can be found at ADOL’s COVID-19 resource page at https://labor.alabama.gov/ newsfeed/News_CovID19.aspx.