Alabama Department Of Labor
Reviews and Complaints

I lost my job March 5 2024. I filed the claim that week. I have NOT received one payment in over a month.

You cannot talk to one person on the phone that will explain why your claim isn't finished. Only the website which gives blanke arbitrary language about why it hasn't been processed.

This is by far the worst experience with any organization I can remember. Typical government bloat. They'll come after your house if you don't pay taxes but they won't help you when you really need it.

I'm a 20 year IT professional but the job market still sucks, so finding something is a struggle. They are only offering a fraction of what my typical income was per month, but at least I could afford to eat with the money.

I lost my job 12/19/2023 when the company I worked for closed its local office. Since that time I’ve only received ONE payment. THAT was a fight. Kept being told by Jennifer on the phone that she would pass my info for review to her supervisor but she’d never name them and wouldn’t tell me how to get in touch with them. I made some errors and she said she put corrected notes in file but still no compensation after I have PAID INTO THE STATE FOR 40 years as I’ve worked that long. I’ve NEVER before been unemployed. Jennifer on two phone calls tried to get me to say that if I got Alabama unemployment compensation OR GOT A JOB that I WOULD GIVE UP MY SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS which by federal law they can’t touch (I’m 64 and am drawing Social Security now).

Alabama Unemployment is a scam and they are trying to make it so hard that people give up. I talked with a friend who told me that I should lie and she is black and said that’s what I should do. I won’t do that. Alabama UC Dept is strong-arming claimants into giving up and they threaten to take away Social Security which they cannot do. They are operating dishonestly and are despicable. I told them that even with Social Security that I am allowed to earn a certain amount from a job. Then, last week I get a letter that they want to retrain me and it’ll take several hours that day ha! I have a Master’s degree and plenty of experience in my field. I do not need to be retrained.

Screw them. Alabama Unemployment laws and disingenuous practices are a joke. I have nothing good to say about them. Am now about to see an attorney.

I can never get in touch with anyone, can never get an appointment call. I finally got in contact with someone, a male, we went over everything and he said he was releasing all of the issues that was stopping my claims. Ater that phone call I had to make another appointment to speak with someone. I was able to get an appointment Monday, but no one ever called Monday instead they called at 7:00 am Tuesday morning, I guess hoping I was not going to answer. I answered and come to find out everything the first agent told me was a lie. I sent this man all of my information via email and also the second lady the same info. Now inside my account I have denial for not providing information on time when I did TWICE! The second lady I spoken with was very dismissive as if she knew me or my situation. I asked about the other pending issues and when will I speak with someone about the pending issues, she told me she didn't know. This is the worst system in the world.

its so hard to speak with someone about your payments,chage of address, change your deposit status.. i mean anything that is important in account has to be changed by them but you can never get intouch with them. I just need my address change to get my delayed payments sent to me from 2021 and it seems like i will never get them because that symtem that they are using...its not a good system at all

I filed-6/26/23. It's been 9 mths. I have been through at least 1 appeal, missed 1 filing by 1 day as it was a holiday. The dept found in favor of me & said I was eligible for benefits, against the wrong employer. I reported a new job on my weekly filing,& did not know to file a 10 day new hire. My case # is 4566213. Please help me. My name is Lesa Keith and am 64 years old. This is my first time to ever file for unemployment and I just need a human to help me, not messages that appointments are full for the day even when I call at 7:38 AM in the morning

I filed for unemployment February of 2023, and as of January 2024 I have not received not one cent. I’ve sent it my required documentation last year through their unnecessarily difficult and outdated process. It’s 2024. We should be able to submit documents via internet now. My status still say Pending Issue Halt. This is ridiculous. They don’t answer any emails. They tell you to call at 5pm to schedule a call back but all the slots are full by 5:01pm. I’ve actually sat down and counted down to 5pm on the dot to call, but somehow the slots get filled in seconds

I got terminated in June 19 2023 from a restaurant the termination was bogus because of my sexual preference I was let go I filled unemployment june 22 and filing my weekly claims and received a letter from Kim department of labor employee she stated since my employer has responded my claim should be processed in 2 days and I should be paid it is now Oct and I have not been paid all the employee from adol state they backed up ok that fine but I have lost everything because u employees are backed up with claims which I understand but how does adol want us to go to interviews with being hungry dirty clothes etc please help me

I reached out twice to the appeals board. I finally got an appointment after calling every day only to hear (5:03) that all appointments are taken. Nobody called despite my confirmation appointment. It says I didn’t respond to a notification but I faxed the requested paperwork?!?

I don’t understand why this is so difficult. The state is not paying me, my firmer employee is?

How can I get help? I have now been unemployed 1 month and 15 days?

After 13 years working as a Contractor for the Government with PEO Aviation at Redstone Arsenal I was terminated for a violation of a policy I never signed, denied PTO after I was informed I must take PTO due to the violation and then never provided an opportunity to speak with anyone in the Government about the violation and defend myself.

It begins with my in-process hire last year 2022 with a new company, Iron Mountain Solutions, where I requested the policy on how to approach special accommodations if needed. I was hired on the pretext I would be allowed to work in Michigan when needed like I had done with my previous employer, I was only required to inform my immediate Government supervisor, Bob Reynolds, which I did for the past year. On May 5, 2023 I was contacted by my Iron Mountain Solutions supervisor Joe Kanser, who was hired after me and I have never spoken to or met, in regards to my 1 year evaluation and a good time to meet. I informed him I had just returned to Michigan and was hopeful to be there until July if possible to attend to some family issues. He responded positively with a “no issues” email. On Monday May 8, 2023 I received the updated COVID policy that I may be required to come into the office every other week. This information was hard for me to hear because I did not know how that would affect me being able to go to Michigan when needed for family purposes. I expressed my concerns to Bob Reynolds and he was very positive that we would work out something and he totally supported me. Again, I have worked with these people for 13 years! He even spoke to his supervisor Mario Williams so everyone was in the know. Late Tuesday evening I received a harsh email “Fwd: PTO Required until Return to Huntsville - Violation of PEO Aviation Telework Agreement and Policy”. I agreed to take PTO and then they asked when I may return to Huntsville, AL, because the Government (Wendy Wilson, Gregory Jenks) wanted a meeting with me Monday May 15, 2023. I requested that I have an opportunity to come back Tuesday or Wednesday since we had family things planned in Michigan. I was then immediately informed “ We discussed you returning to the Huntsville area NLT Monday, May 15th on the phone earlier. Joe’s email below, sent at 1:45PM re-iterated the expectation in #2, so there would be no ambiguity that Apache wants you in Huntsville to work NLT Monday, May 15th. As directed from the PM Apache COR, you are to be removed from the Apache Technical contract. Your CAC will be revoked tomorrow morning. Removal from the Apache Tech contract means we will out-process you as an employee. HR will be in-touch on the steps for out-processing and returning your Government Computer and CAC.” I immediately responded “ Respectfully, I dispute this. Mike you explicitly said let us know if you can be back in Huntsville by the end of the day. An email has also been sent that until I return to Huntsville I am to use PTO. If it is my right, legally, as an employee I should be able to use PTO.” No one ever responded to that email. I then requested a copy of the policy I was in violation of because I had never seen it. They sent me the Iron Mountain policy which is a blanket company policy and explicitly states I need to complete and sign a AWE policy form. I then requested my completed form and they never could provide it. On Wednesday May 17, 2023 I out processed with Iron Mountain without any further contact with the Government. Turned in all my equipment to my Iron Mountain supervisor, completed my exit interview and then I was sent on my way. When I inquired again about these policies I signed there first response was it was the Government form and Government would have that, then when I asked about the Iron Mountain policy the supervisor informed me was not on the job at the time and therefore he has no idea what happened to that form and could not provide me any further information.

I have called and called to try and get in touch with a representative to help with an "issue" on my unemployment claim. The portal is telling me that i have not submitted all the required documents, although i did mail them in to the address on the letter i received requesting the documents. I am also seeing an issue with the work search requirements, which i did fill out for last week but am still being denied my compensation. I was laid off work with not even a weeks' notice and I HAVE BILLS TO PAY! PLEASE SOMEONE REACH OUT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! My cell phone # is [protected]. This situation is very frustrating as there is no one i can speak to and no way for me to get my issue resolved. I also put in an inquiry on the portal a week ago and still have not heard back on that either. PLEASE HELP!

Around the first of march I applied for my unemployment my name is Casino Norwood I never got a notice stating that I needed to send my ID until I called to complain I’ve been calling every Sunday for 8 to 9 weeks even been calling to complain only thing I keep being told is my case Is pending my lights been off twice and whoever this case worker is is doin a poor job till im in process of trying to files lawsuit against Alabama department of labor.

I was laid off from work 13 January 2023. I filed my unemployment claim by phone. However, the online system did not work. I entered all required information several times but the system returned an error each time I submitted. There was no one I could call to help with this.

Subsequently, I could not get in touch with anyone for each week's certification.

The phone appointment system failed miserably. Then I got a letter from DOLA asking me to provide all my W-2's all the way back to 2011 when I last filed for unemployment. My wife and I scrambled to gather these but many were not available. Even the IRS website with my account did not go back that far. I continued to apply for work at multiple places and do interviews, but I could not certify for the weeks over the phone. Then I got online and discovered my claim status was " Inactive ". I finally got thru to someone at unemployment and they advised it was due to not certifying my claim each week. Then she referred me to the Appointment number and that is all she said she could do. I continued to call for appointments, but the call back was dropped week before last. Then I tried to get another appointment and a message said "I could only have one appointment per week". Last week, I finally was able to successfully connect to someone again on a call back and told the story. The person took my information about the employers I had contacted each week that led to a new job which began on 13 March. Subsequently, I got a letter stating all my claims were denied due to not certifying each week. Now I have been working for over 40 years I never wanted to be unemployed at any time. But in the few times that I was unemployed it was never made so difficult where I could not even talk to someone with a pulse about my claim. The system failing me online is still unexplained for why it would error off each time I tried to use it. I submit, It is not my fault because I am a Cyber Security professional and have supported The USAF, US CENTCOM, US SOUTHCOM , US SPACEFORCE and now MDA once again.

I was wrongfully denied my unemployment claim due to the way the online system did not work and the dysfunctional phone appointment system.

I first filed for unemployment back in october 2020 when I was having to miss work because of covid and I was told to file an appeal because it was denied. So I did but I never heard anything back. Then October 2021 I filed for unemployment again but this time it was because my employer fired me. Again for that situation I was told to file an appeal because my claim was denied so I did. I call the unemployment office and finally got a call back one day in February 2022 and a lady told me she didn't see my appeal letter and I needed to file a new one. So I said ok and I filed a new appeal. So that's 3 appeals for 2 different claims and here it is June 2022 and I've still not heard from anybody. I'm a single mother of 4 kids and I've been waiting since October 2020. This has got to be the saddest thing from Alabama to have to sit and wait almost 2 years for my unemployment money. No one has sent me a letter, email or anything. I'm just waiting for my money.

I signed up for unemployment the third week of march 2022. this is almost the second week of june 2022 and still no check. what is wrong?

I started my claim back in March 27, 2022 when I was furloughed from my job. I had been calling doing weekly certifications until the system kicked me out. I have called over 100 times to get help but every representative tells me that they only file claims and to call the compensation line. You only can call the compensation once a week. So I finally got a call back and they told me to upload documents. Now it says that there is no record of my social and claimant id. I am absolutely exhausted with them. The representatives are all so rude and take so long to even say hello. I have been given different information from so many of them.

I started filing unemployment sept 2020. I worked for 2 company 1 company paid me to do work for them in a dr office getting a w2 from them. And the dr office paid me to do extra work for the office and doing so they paid me cash getting a 1099. Had issues with the dr office that wasnt my fault. Contacted my employer and told them. So due to covid 19 they had no offices open for work. I turned in all my info by emails and fax and mailed them. Yes i kept the copies for verifcation. I contacted unemployment almost weekly. I kept getting the same answer waiting on employer to submit paperwork. And did you submit employee verifcation? yes. Are you looking for work weekly?yes. So finaly im approved for unemployment. You would thinkif you only approved for so many weeks that the wait peroid wouldnt go past the weeks approved for. And if so when u talked to someone they would help you get it fixed. Thats a big no... I was told after a year that no one had touched my case seen i submitted it. So i started contacting other goverment employers about how unemployment people are getting paid to do a job that they are not doing. And i cant even get the person getting paid to touch my info. Finally jan 2022 i get paid. For 5 off 66 weeks. Pick up the phone start calling. Someone tells me the issue was about a claim in 2017 they fixed it said i was all set ill be getting the rest of my back pay in a few days. Now i have 10 of 66 weeks. Now i start getting letters dated jan 2022 stating i was denided poa and unemploment. But you just paid me 10 of 66 weeks. Showing that i was appoved the first 10 weeks of 2021. Ok so no back pay for sept 2020-dec 2020 and apirl 2021-dec 2021. I understand unemployment was behind but the company i worked for wasnt. I talked to people who filed after me that only waited 1-3 weeks and got approved for months and months. And self employment people who got 800 dollars weekly for a year. But i got approved for 10 weeks of unemployment. And waited 66 weeks to only get the 10 weeks of unemployment without any back pay. I never got any paperwork from them until jan 2022. Unemployment trying to cover up their mistakes. Im still fighting for my unemployment back pay. Can anyone give me advise?

I am from Mississippi have been laid off since May 28, 2021. Have been filling weekly claims since June . I have not received $0 dollars from this place or get through on inquiry line All these people telling me is my case is still active and keep filing which is [censored]. How can you tell me to upload my information for verification to your website and no one is checking or calling people back. I will be done lost everything I had trying to get my payments when I am legitimately laid off and have proof of it Who is checking our information and why aren't they returning the calls from inquiry line. I am so 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬Pissed. But the state of Alabama had no problem taking taxes out of my check for the last past 3 years and 10 months.

Desire the fact that I have called on (several, ) occasions. No one, has yet returned a call, concerning my benefits. It has been a total of 6 weeks and I have yet to receive a payment, on my claim. The (same, ) employer, is on my current claim, so there is no reason for refusal, of payment. Bills are piling up and funds are (Desperately, ) needed. 😭

Date Incident: 8/2/2021
Client ID: 4147405
After filing my claim for well over a year I have had 2 appeals which was ruled in my favor, I received a payment 1 time in April and it did not continue due to needing verification for identity, I have called day after day for months since April only to get through to the inquiry lone 2 times, 1 being yesterday. The man doing the solution for issues needing to be resolved was rude and not helpful at all. He told me incorrect information and I even obtained documents today that he said I needed. He hung up on me due to him saying I was cussing at him when I wasn't I was speaking to my husband who was in the background. Now I have to wait again another week to see if I can even get a call back. I have not been informed of any issues he stated yesterday for over a year

I have been calling trying to receive an appointment for 8 weeks . I finally got through last week and received an appointment. The rep that called me juried through the call not even really giving me any info. She told me to contact her by email. She gave me the email once . I tried to repeat it to her to confirm. She wouldn't even stay on the line to make sure I had the email. I have been emailing what I believe to be the email. She has not responded once. The email has not been returned either.

Last Year during corvid I was laid off from Hutchison and received unemployment no problem However I found a job in a field I had never worked in and after 2.5 months training in Pensacola, they decided to rehire someone else and terminated my position. It ended on Oct. 16th. I filed for unemployment for the week of October ending on October 31.

I had problems filing as I was trying to file it under regular unemployment but the system kept telling me file it under pandemic, and even when I had no other choice I put in comments not pandemic related. I called the next day on the 1st of November and she said that you had to file it under the same claim.
What happened from there was that I got no money until Jan 4th after speaking to probably my 100th phone call and going to our local office 3 times before you all stopped that. She took 140 dollars out of one week benefits and I paid 4.83 by money order. The person paid me for 7 weeks and a partial week. After that I got regular unemployment checks but their were 3 weeks they never paid me for including the pandemic money that everyone else was getting I had called hundreds of times about them. .
The lady said that she had fixed everything and that the problem was partially the person who tried to help me on Nov 1st, and partly the penalties, Then this year they came back sometime in March and said I owned them 980.00 I think because I got paid for three weeks I shouldn't have been paid for. It doesn't make since. So for the entire time from Oct to March 2021 it should have all been under regular unemployment. Could you please help get this resolved. I have fought as hard as I am exhausted. I cannot get unemployment now because of those fines. Also I have faxed them information that they have requested at least two times. Every time I send it fax with a confirmation to ensure you get it.
Thank you, there was no where else I could call that would call me back and that includes the overpayment number that I leave my info for a call back and I never get one. I have to heck it because eventually if falls off and I have to recall again, leave my info and keep doing it. Right now 3 months straight.