Alabama Warns Refusing Work to Claim Unemployment Is Fraud (1)

Alabama’s labor department has taken a tough stance on workers who are reluctant to return to their jobs as some states reopen for business, warning that refusing work and continuing to claim unemployment benefits is fraud.

The department issued the warning in a statement released late Thursday that encouraged employers to report to the state any workers who refuse to return to work.

The state’s hard line comes as restaurants and other service businesses in a number of Southern states prepare to reopen, and as the U.S. Labor Department’s independent watchdog is paying close attention to how states handle the ...