Effective January 1, 2009, employers with five (5) or more employees may no longer file paper (Ben-3) Partial Forms for their employees. Employers with five (5) or more employees shall electronically file a partial claim for their workers for a maximum of three (3) consecutive weeks during which the employee has no earnings but the employer wishes to retain them.

The Alabama Department of Industrial Relations offers easier, faster, and more effective methods to file partial claims. You may use any of the methods listed below to make more timely payments for your employees.

Internet: Employers can file claims for partial unemployment benefits through the Internet at http://dir.alabama.gov/uc/partials

Web Filing: Your employees can directly file their unemployment compensation claim online at our website : www.dir.alabama.gov.

Telephone: Y our employees can directly file their unemployment compensation claim by telephone. They may file their claims by calling 1-866-2 FILE UC (1-866-234-5382) between 7:00 AM and 4:30 PM Central Time, Monday through Friday, during the first week in which they do not work.

Direct Deposit is now available for your employees when you file partials for them. The Agreement for Direct Deposit, Form DD-1, and Direct Deposit Fact Sheet, Form DD-2, can be downloaded (by clicking on the form name) and given to your employees. The employee must complete Form DD-1 and return it to you. Employers who file partials electronically must submit the direct deposit information electronically in order for their employees’ unemployment compensation benefits to be direct deposited in their checking or savings account. We can no longer delay the processing of all of an employer’s electronic partials in order to input some of the employees’ direct deposit information.  However, any changes to the direct deposit information after the initial set up by the employer, can be made by calling 334-242-7953.

In the event employers who file partials electronically but do not want the responsibility of submitting the direct deposit information electronically for their employees, the employees will receive debit cards.

The employees who want their benefits deposited into their personal checking or savings accounts:

• can directly file their unemployment compensation claim by telephone. They may file their claims by calling 1-866-2 FILE UC (1-866-234-5382) between 7:00 AM and 4:30 PM Central Time, Monday through Friday, during the week in which they do not work.
• can directly file their unemployment compensation claim online at our website: www.dir.alabama.gov during the first week in which they do not work.

The employee will receive and must use his AL Vantage Debit Card until the Direct Deposit is set up.

• Employers must register with DIR New Hire and Alabama UC Partials before filing partial claims using the Internet system.
• Effective January 1, 2009, employers with five (5) or more employees may no longer file paper (Ben-3) Partial Forms for their employees.
• Employers with five (5) or more employees shall electronically file a partial claim for their workers for a maximum of three (3) consecutive weeks during which the employee has no earnings but the employer wishes to retain them.
• Under our current administrative rules, employers are allowed to file partials up to three consecutive weeks. During the 4th week, the employee must call 1-866-2 FILE UC (1-866-234-5382) between 7:00 AM and 4:30 PM Central Time, Monday through Friday to file his claim during the week in which they do not work.
• Employees can also file their claims using the Internet system at www.dir.alabama.gov during the week in which they do not work.
• Partials for more than one week for the same employee cannot be filed at the same time. Employers must wait until the next day to file another week.
• Generally employers can file partial claims electronically if they have employees who are working and earning less than their usual weekly gross earnings for full-time employment and less than the maximum UC weekly benefit amount currently in effect.
• Use of the computerized partial claims system helps the Department of Industrial Relations speed up the payment process for filing an unemployment compensation partial claim.
• Employers filing automated partial claims are not required to submit a claim on employees' whose gross earnings for a given week are equal to or exceed the current maximum benefit amount of $265.
• Partials cannot be filed on employees who have a current benefit year on which UC benefits have exhausted.
• Partials cannot be filed on employees who have been determined monetarily ineligible until the beginning of the next calendar quarter which is the first Sunday of January, April, July, and October.

Employers must register with Alabama UC Partials before filing partial claims using the Internet system.

• Employers must acknowledge and accept an Employer Affidavit for Electronic Partials, which will be presented to you as an online form during the Internet filing session. You may view and download a copy of this form here.
• Employers must have an Employee Consent Form on file for each employee who files partials. This form can be printed or the form can be downloaded and saved on the employer's computer for later completion.
• Employers must have a UC account number that is assigned to them by the Tax Section when their business is established.
• Partial claims cannot be filed until after the end of the pay period in which the employee's gross earnings are less than his usual full-time weekly earnings and less than the maximum UC weekly benefit amount currently in effect.
• Partials must be filed within 14 days following the ending date of the week of unemployment covered by the claim. Exception: Where the employer's payroll is on a biweekly basis or an employer's administrative offices are closed for a period of two weeks the 14 day limitation with respect to the first week of such pay period or closure is extended to 18 days.
• Employers may not file partial claims when:

• Partial claims may be filed only for employees who are temporarily laid off due to lack of work for no more than three consecutive weeks. (However, any unemployed individual may file a claim by calling 1-866-2FILE UC (1-866-234-5382) or using the Internet system at www.dir.alabama.gov during the week in which they do not work.
• Partials cannot be filed for employees more than three consecutive weeks.
• If employees are laid off for reasons other than temporary lack of work, they must file their claim by calling 1-866-2 FILE UC (1-866-234-5382) or using the Internet system at www.dir.alabama.gov during the week in which they do not work.
• Partials can be filed for non-citizen employees. However, their permit number must be provided and a valid copy of their employment authorization document, front and back, must be submitted to the Payment Processing Unit to prove their status as a legal alien.
• AL Vantage Debit Cards for Partial Unemployment Benefits cannot be mailed to the employer’s address. The employee’s current address or post office box must be provided when filing for benefits. Postal authorities will not forward AL Vantage Debit Cards.

HOW TO CONTACT US

You may contact the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations, Employer Filed Claims Unit by one of the following methods: