1. Thomas & Company
  2. Unemployment Insurance
  3. COVID-19

Which of my Georgia Employees do I need to file claims for? UPDATED

 

You may submit partial claims for workers who are temporarily laid off due to a lack of work.  For claims filed beginning on or after November 15, 2020, Georgia DOL states:

  1. All partial claims shall be filed online; 
  2. Employers are required to file partial claims for any full-time employee whose hours are reduced below the level of Full-Time Continuous Employment due to the COVID-19 public health emergency.
      • According to GA, full-time is normally considered to be at least thirty (30) hours of work in a week or such other number of hours as is normal in a particular industry. 
  3. Employers can, but are not required, file partial claims for any part-time employee whose hours and pay are substantially reduced due to the COVID-19 public health emergency. 
      • "Part-time Employment" shall be construed to be work which is other than full-time
        continuous employment as defined above, without regard to whether it is of limited duration as to days, weeks or months. A claimant who worked part-time during a majority of the weeks of work in the base period must be available to work for at least 20 hours per week.
  4. If you offered to restore the employee's hours and pay to pre-COVID-19 impact levels, the employer is not required to file a partial claim for that week.
  5. Any employer found to be in violation of this subparagraph shall pay to the Commissioner for the unemployment fund the full amount of benefits paid to the employee. Authority O.C.G.A. Secs. 34-2-6(a)(4), 34-8-47, 34-8-70, 34-8-190, 50-13-3, 50-13-4, 50-13-6.

 

Do NOT submit claims for employees who:

  • will be paid for the temporary layoff period, e.g., paid salary, paid sick leave, paid vacation or paid family leave.
  • are/were on scheduled leave prior to the layoff period, e.g., a leave of absence or medical leave.
  • employed by a temporary agency and are currently working at your place of business.
  • were employed in another state in the last 18 months. (Employees should be directed to Apply for Unemployment Benefits online)
  • were employed with the federal government or on active military service in the last 18 months.

(These employees should be directed to Apply for Unemployment Benefits online)

 

For a complete listing of the Emergency Rules adopted during the COVID-19 Pandemic, visit https://dol.georgia.gov/laws-and-rules/gdol-rules.

 

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