During the pandemic, contributory employers were relieved of unemployment benefit charges for claims filed on behalf of individuals who were unemployed or partially unemployed due to COVID-19 if they filed through the GA DOL Partial Claim process. Effective June 27, 2021, the relief for unemployment benefit charging will end regardless of the reason for unemployment. Unemployment benefits paid for weeks ending on or after June 27, 2021, will be charged to the most recent employer under the law section OCGA 34-8-43.
Employers who need to temporarily lay off employees will now only be allowed to submit six consecutive weeks of partial claims with no earnings. Individuals that are unemployed more than six consecutive weeks will be considered separated and subsequent claims filed on their behalf by the employer will not be processed or paid. In such cases, employers are encouraged to convert claims from “partial” claims to “regular” claims to allow the individuals to file and claim their own weekly benefits and report gross earnings if they work.
- Following those six (6) consecutive weeks of total unemployment for any worker reported on Form DOL-408, an employer who requests permission and shows justifiable cause may, upon approval of the Commissioner report four (4) additional weeks of total unemployment on Form DOL-408, provided the employer provides a firm return to work date for such employees within the four (4) week time period.
- If the employer can provide no firm return to work date or upon expiration of the approved time period for acceptance of partial unemployment claims, or when an employer ceases to file Form DOL-408 for any totally unemployed worker, the employer shall immediately advise the employee to report in person to the nearest local career center of the department for the purpose of registering for work and reporting on his or her claim. At this point the employer should use the conversion process if they have been filing partial claims to GA.
Employers can find the instructions for filing Partial claims and for converting partial claims to regular claims using this link https://dol.georgia.gov/employers/employer-filed-claims
As always, we will continue to monitor for changes in reporting layoff or reduction of hours in Georgia and provide updates as they become available. If there are any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us or visit our website for the latest news and updates.
