Georgia Ends Participation in Federal Programs and Reinstates Pre-Pandemic UI Requirements
Monday, June 28th, 2021
This Saturday, June 26, 2021, will end the state’s participation in the federal unemployment insurance (UI) programs enacted through the CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan Act and reinstate many of the eligibility requirements waived during the recent pandemic. The last payable week for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), and Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation (MEUC) is week ending June 26, 2021, reinstating additional requirements on June 27 for claimants and employers.
“We saw the number of claims filed this week drop by almost 2,000 and anticipate this number to continue to fall as Georgians return to the workforce,” said Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler. “After sixty-six weeks of benefits during the pandemic and the release of over $22.5 billion, we look forward to refocusing our organization on reemployment and helping claimants find a career path that will provide the stability and support necessary to provide for their families.”
The previously adjusted earning disregard rule that allowed earnings up to $300 per week to be disregarded when calculating weekly benefits will be reduced to $150 per week. This means reported earnings more than $150 will be deducted dollar for dollar from the weekly entitlement amount.
“We will begin to charge employers again next week for unemployment benefits for those temporarily laid off or working fewer hours during the pandemic,” said Commissioner Butler. “Businesses are open and employers are looking for workers to fill positions, not laying off members of their team.”
Employers will also revert to the Partial Claims Mandate (Rule 300-2-4.09) effective June 27, 2021. Employers will only be allowed to submit six (6) consecutive weeks of partial claims with no earnings. Individuals that are unemployed more than six (6) consecutive weeks will be considered to be separated and subsequent claims filed will not be processed or paid. In such cases, employers are encouraged to convert claims from partial claims to individual-filed claims to allow the individuals to request their own weekly benefits and report gross earnings if they work.
Today, the Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) announced it has processed 4,918,465 regular unemployment insurance (UI) claims since March 21, 2020, more than the last 10 years prior to the pandemic combined (4.8 million).
The GDOL has paid over $22.5 billion in state and federal benefits in the past sixty-six weeks. Last week, the GDOL issued almost $161 million in benefits, which included regular unemployment and federally funded Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) supplements, Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), and State Extended Benefits.
Resources for reemployment assistance along with Information on filing an unemployment claim and details on how employers can file partial claims can be found on the agency's webpage at dol.georgia.gov.
For more information on jobs and current labor force data, visit the Georgia Labor Force Market Explorer at www.explorer.gdol.ga.gov to view a comprehensive repor