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BASE PERIOD: The base period is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before the week you call to file your initial claim. We look at the wages from your base period to determine whether you earned enough to qualify for a claim and to calculate the amount of benefits that can be paid to you. The chart below will help you understand how the calendar quarters in a base period are determined. To determine your base period, look at the far-left column of the table and find the month when your benefit year starts. The four shaded quarters in the same row (moving across to the right) are the base period quarters of your claim. Your benefit year begins the Sunday of the week during which you file your initial claim.

HIGH QUARTER: Your high quarter is the base period quarter during which you were paid the highest dollar amount of wages from covered employment. The average earnings of your two highest base period quarters must be equal to at least the minimum amount specified by law. Your total base period wages must equal or exceed 1½ times your high quarter earnings in order for you to be eligible for unemployment benefits.

MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM BENEFIT Benefits range from a minimum of $45 to a maximum of $275 calculated using your base period earnings. Your monetary determination letter will show your base period wages by employer as well as, the total weekly amount of benefits and the maximum amount of benefits that could be paid on your claim.

ADDITIONAL TRAINING BENEFITS If you filed your claim on or after January 1, 2020, you may qualify for an additional five (5) weeks of benefits if you're participating in approved training. These additional weeks will mean that five times your regular weekly benefit amount is added to your maximum benefit amount. These training weeks will not be paid for any benefit weeks ending after your benefit year has ended. Once your claim benefit balance reaches $0, if the training benefits are applicable to you, you will receive a letter explaining how to sign up for the training extension weeks.

COVERED AND INSURED EMPLOYMENT Covered employment is work you do for an employer who is subject to the Alabama Unemployment Compensation Law. When we determine your monetary eligibility, we only look at wages paid from covered employment. Some work can be excluded (or not covered) by law, even when performed for a covered employer. If you have wages from another state, military wages, federal wages, school related wages, or if some of your Alabama wages are missing or need further investigation, you may be issued another monetary determination after these additional wages are recorded. You cannot receive benefits from more than one state for the same period of time.