By Joshua Huff, sports editor
MONTGOMERY — The Alabama Department of Labor reported on Wednesday that it has made payments to 88% of those in the state who have filed for COVID-19 related unemployment benefits since March 16, 2020.
“ADOL has processed 88% of active COVID-19 related claims, and by doing so, has disbursed more than one billion dollars into Alabama’s economy,” Washington said. “Over the past two months, we have paid out more in total unemployment benefits than in the last six years combined.”
With that 88% comes a price tag of more than $1 billion in COVID-19 related unemployment compensation benefits, ADOL Secretary Fitzgerald Washington said. The state is 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).
To be exact, ADOL had paid $1,007,106,963 to 267,357 claimants through March 16 to May 18, 2020.
Of that $1 billion, $852,343,140 of those funds are FPUC, the $600 stimulus benefit added to weekly unemployment compensation benefits, $22,595,851 represent PUA funds and $3,344,453 represent PEUC funds.
“We know there are still claimants who have yet to be paid, or are experiencing issues with their claims, and we continue to work to improve services and get those payments out,” Washington said. “The vast majority of claims that haven’t yet been processed are due to the fact that the claimant isn’t filing their weekly certifications, a process required in order to receive benefits each week. Weekly certifications can be filed online at www.labor.alabama.gov, or if you are receiving PUA, those weeks can be filed via the PUA app.”