Recently, the Georgia Department of Labor issued a reminder to employers about the Employer Filed Claims (EFC) process and many clients have questions about the program and if they need to take any actions. The Georgia EFC process was a requirement during the pandemic if an employer wanted to get relief from benefit charges. In addition, using the EFC process often sped up the time to collect benefits for the employees impacted by pandemic related layoffs, furloughs, or reduction in hours.
Effective June 26, 2021, the relief for unemployment benefit charges ended regardless of the reason for separation. This change eliminated the need for employers to report impacted employees on a weekly basis. Some employers continued to report claims after this time period as they ramped their operations back up.
The EFC process has always been part of the Georgia law and only needs to be used in instances where you will have a layoff or furlough up to 6 consecutive weeks where the individuals impacted will have no earnings. Individuals separated for any other reason may be eligible for benefits and those individuals should file their own claim with Georgia Department of Labor.
If you have a layoff or furlough that lasts for more than 6 consecutive weeks, the state will consider the individuals to be separated from your employment at week 7 and subsequent claims for benefits will not be processed or paid. In these cases, you should convert the partial claims to individual filed claims using the conversion process to allow individuals to request their own weekly benefits. More information on the Conversion process can be found at https://dol.georgia.gov/document/covid-19/claims-conversion-program-instructions/download.
If you have any additional questions about the Georgia Department of Labor’s Employer Filed Claims process, please reach out to your Client Relationship Manager or to Michele Heckmann, Director of Customer Insights, our resident GA EFC expert. Michele can be reached at [email protected] or at (615)242-8246.
Georgia Department of Labor Notice
This notice provides updates and reminders regarding the Georgia Department of Labor Employer-Filed Claim (EFC) program requirements:
- EFCs must be for a Saturday week ending date. This requirement will be applied to weeks ending on or after March 26, 2022.
- EFCs submitted for a week ending date on or after March 26, 2022, that is not a Saturday will not be accepted.
- EFCs should not be filed when an employee fails to work all available hours during the week. Employers should report job refusals online for employees who refuse to report or return to work at dol.georgia.gov. and select Report UI Fraud & Abuse.
- Individuals must complete an EFC Profile for an EFC payment to be payable.
The Employer-Filed Claims Guide, available on the Employer Portal, provides detailed information and instructions regarding this program. Employers are strongly encouraged to review and follow the guide when submitting claims on behalf of your employees to ensure claims and payments are processed timely.
If you have any questions, please contact the Employer-Filed (Partial) Claims at 1-877-709-8185 or email [email protected].
