Ala. Admin. Code r. 480-4-2-.19

Current through Register Vol. 43, No. 1, October 31, 2024

Section 480-4-2-.19 - Employer Responsibilities

(1)Posting of Notices and Notifications

Every employer (including every employing unit which has, with the approval of the Secretary, become an employer by election under the provisions of the law) shall provide notification of the potential availability of unemployment benefits to individual employees at the time of their separation from employment. Notices to the employees may be made by letter, email, text message, or flyer, and must contain the following information:

Employer Notification to Employees of the Availability of Unemployment Compensation

Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits are available to workers who are unemployed and who meet the requirements of Alabama UI eligibility laws. You may file a UI claim in the first week that employment stops, or work hours are reduced.

For assistance or more information about filing a UI claim visit www.labor.alabama.gov

You will need to provide the Alabama Department of Labor's UI division with the following information in order for the state to process your claim:

1. Your full legal name;

2. Your Social Security Number; and

3. Your authorization to work (if you are not a US Citizen or resident).

To file a UI claim by phone, call: 1-866-234-5382 To file a UI claim online, visit:

https://continuedclaims.labor.alabama.gov

If you have questions about the status of your UI claim, you can call the Alabama Department of Labor at 1-800-361-4524 or check your claim status online at

https://uiclaimstracker.labor.alabama.gov

Every employer shall additionally post and maintain printed notices to its workers informing them that it is liable for contributions under the Alabama Unemployment Compensation Law and has been so registered by the Secretary. Such notices shall be furnished by the Secretary in such numbers as he/she may determine to be necessary and shall be posted and maintained in conspicuous places near the actual location where the workers' services are performed. Such notices shall also include information as to the workers' rights to benefits and instructions as to the procedure for registering for work and for filing claims for benefits. No such notice shall be posted or maintained by any person or employing unit to whom an unemployment compensation account number has not been assigned by the Secretary or who has ceased to be an employer.

(2)Separation Information

(a) When a former employee files a new or additional claim for unemployment compensation, the Alabama Unemployment Compensation Agency notifies the last bona fide employer and requests information regarding the reason for the claimant being separated. This employer must return the Form BEN 241, Request for Separation Information, by no later than the response due date listed on the form. Failure of the employer to provide this information may be construed to mean that the separation was under conditions that would not be disqualifying. Failure of the employer to provide this information may also deny relief of charges to the employer's experience rating for an overpayment that is caused by the separating employer's failure to respond timely or adequately.

1. An employer may request a separate mailing address for the purpose of receiving requests for separation information and other correspondence regarding a claim for unemployment benefits. This address is in addition to the address to which the quarterly tax reports are to be mailed. A request for a separate mailing address shall be in writing and signed by the employer or its authorized representative. The name and address of each separate unit must be included. All requests will be subject to approval by the Secretary or his/her authorized representative. If approved, proper reporting instructions will be mailed to the employer. The Secretary may for good cause and after proper notice to the employer revoke the approval for separate mailing addresses.

2. The date of mailing, as disclosed by the official U.S. Postal Service postmark, shall be the date that the information was furnished. If the information is received by any method other than the U.S. Mail, the date of actual receipt shall govern.

(b) Notice of discharge for a dishonest or criminal act committed in connection with work, an act of sabotage or an act endangering the safety of others may be furnished by the employer to the Alabama Unemployment Compensation Agency immediately following such discharge. This voluntary notice should be in writing and should include the worker's name, social security number, date of separation and circumstances resulting in such discharge. The failure to provide advance notice of such discharge in no way precludes the Secretary from acting upon such information furnished timely in response to the first Agency notice to the employer of a claim.

1. Once a claim is filed, the last separating employer is furnished a Notice of Claim and Request for Separation Information, (Form Ben-241). Base period employers other than the last separating employer are notified of the claim by a Notice of Potential Charge to Your Tax Rating Account (Form Ben-8A). Information furnished by the respective employers in response to these will be considered timely notice to the Secretary as required by Section 25-4-78(3) a, and acted upon accordingly, including monetary redetermination of the claim, provided such response is furnished to the Agency within the time specified on either form. (The required return date and local office address is printed on each Ben 241. Form Ben 8A must be returned to the Department of Labor, Unemployment Compensation Agency, 649 Monroe Street, Montgomery, Alabama 36131, within fifteen (15) days following the mailing date shown on the form).

(c) When the determination is made, a Form BEN-8, Employer Notice of Determination, is mailed to the last bona fide employer. This notifies the employer that a determination has been made and informs the employer of the appeal rights available.

(d) When a claimant is paid benefits, Form BEN-8A, Notice of Potential Charge to Your Tax Rating Account, is mailed to all base period employers other than a separating employer (except State Accounts). These employers may enter a reason for and date of separation and return the form, to be received in the Unemployment Compensation Agency no later than fifteen (15) days after the initial mailing date. Based on this separation reason, if the law provides, these employers may be granted partial or total relief from the charges to their experience rating account; except as provided in Section 2(b) of this rule.

Ala. Admin. Code r. 480-4-2-.19

Filed September 30, 1982, August 10, 1983, January 23, 1984. Amended: Filed September 7, 1995; effective October 12, 1995.

Amended by Alabama Administrative Monthly Volume XXXVIII, Issue No. 12, September 30, 2020, eff. 11/14/2020.

This rule is intended to implement §25-4-78, 25-4-91(c)(1)(2), 25-4-91(d)(1)(2), and 25-4-111, Code of Ala. 1975, as amended through February 24, 1983.

Author: Joseph S. Ammons, General Counsel

Statutory Authority:Code of Ala. 1975, §§ 25-2-7, 25-2-8, 25-4-111.