Title 34

Benefits shall be deemed due and payable under this chapter only to the extent provided in this chapter and to the extent that funds are available therefor to the credit of the Unemployment Compensation Fund. Neither the state nor the Commissioner shall be liable for any amount i…

(a) All fines, penalties, and interest collected under the terms of this chapter shall be paid into the state treasury. The General Assembly shall be authorized to appropriate to the Commissioner all such funds so raised and deposited in the state treasury, which shall be payable…

(a) Any ambiguity in this chapter shall be construed in a manner consistent with federal law applicable to the unemployment compensation program. (b) In the event any Code section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or provision of this chapter shall b…

(a) This article is intended to reconcile the free access to public records granted by Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50, relating to the inspection of public records, and the discovery rights of judicial and administrative systems with the historical confidentiality of certain…

(a) Any information or records concerning an individual or employing unit obtained by the department pursuant to the administration of this chapter or other federally funded programs for which the department has responsibility shall be private and confidential, except as otherwis…

(a) All letters, reports, communications, or any other matters, either oral or written, from the employer or employee to each other or to the department or any of its agents, representatives, or employees, which letters, reports, or other communications shall have been written, s…

The Commissioner shall have the authority to adopt, amend, or rescind rules and regulations interpreting and implementing the provisions of this article. In particular, these rules shall specify the procedure to be followed to obtain information or records to which the public has…

(a) An individual shall have access to all records and information concerning that individual held by the department unless the information is exempt from disclosure. An employing unit shall have access to its own records and to any records and information relating to a benefit c…

(a) Governmental agencies, including law enforcement agencies, prosecuting agencies, and the executive branch, whether state, local, or federal, shall have access to information or records deemed private and confidential under this article if the information or records are needed…

Information or records deemed private and confidential under this chapter shall be available to parties to judicial or formal administrative proceedings only upon a finding by the presiding officer that the need for the information or records in the proceeding outweighs any reaso…

The department shall have the right to disclose information or records deemed private and confidential under this chapter to any private person or organization when such disclosure is necessary to permit private contracting parties to assist in the operation and management of the…

Where the department contracts to provide services to other governmental or private organizations, the department may disclose to those organizations information or records deemed private and confidential which have been acquired in the performance of the department’s obligations…

Nothing in this article shall prevent the disclosure of information or records deemed private and confidential under this article if all details identifying an individual or employing unit are deleted or the individual and employing unit consent to the disclosure. (Code 1981, § 3…

(a) To enforce the provisions of this article and to prevent fraud and abuse of the Unemployment Trust Fund, the Commissioner or his or her duly authorized representative may submit to the state revenue commissioner the names and social security numbers of any individuals who are…

(a) Contributions shall accrue from each employer for each calendar year in which the employer is subject to this chapter with respect to wages payable for employment, except as provided in Code Sections 34-8-158 through 34-8-162. Except as otherwise provided in this Code section…

(a) For periods prior to April 1, 1987, or after December 31, 2022, each new or newly covered employer shall pay contributions at a rate of 2.7 percent of wages paid by such employer with respect to employment during each calendar year until the employer is eligible for a rate ca…

(a) The standard rate of contribution shall be 5.4 percent. The standard rate of contribution is the rate from which variations therefrom are computed as provided in Code Section 34-8-155. (b) No employer’s rate shall be reduced below the rate for new employers as specified in Co…

(a) Subject to the provisions of subsections (g) and (h) of this Code section, any corporation, partnership, individual, or other legal entity who acquires by purchase, merger, consolidation, or other means substantially all of the trade, business, or assets of any employer and w…

Except as provided in Code Section 34-8-161, the Commissioner shall maintain a separate account for each employer and shall credit such account with all the contributions paid by that employer. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to grant any employer or individuals in the…

(a) Employers shall be classified in accordance with their actual experience in the payment of contributions and with respect to benefits charged against their accounts so that contribution rates will reflect such experience. Employer rates shall be computed based on each employe…

(a) A State-wide Reserve Ratio shall be computed as of June 30 of each year by dividing the balance in the trust fund, including accrued interest, by the total covered wages paid in the state during the previous calendar year. Any amount credited to the state’s account under Sect…

(a) Regular benefits paid with respect to all benefit years that begin on or after January 1, 1992, but prior to July 1, 2015, shall be charged against the experience rating account or reimbursement account of employers in the following manner: (1) Benefits paid shall be charged …

(a) Organizations covered. Benefits paid to employees of governmental entities and nonprofit organizations shall be financed in accordance with this Code section and Code Sections 34-8-157 and 34-8-159 through 34-8-162. For the purpose of this Code section, a nonprofit organizati…

The payments in lieu of contributions as provided in Code Section 34-8-158 shall be made in accordance with the following provisions: (1) Date payment due. Upon approval by the Commissioner, at the end of each calendar quarter or at the end of such other period as determined by t…

(a) Authority to require surety bond. For the purposes of this Code section, a surety bond is a bond of surety issued by an organization licensed and authorized to issue such bond in the State of Georgia. In the discretion of the Commissioner, any organization that elects to beco…

Two or more employers who have become liable for payments in lieu of contributions in accordance with the provisions of Code Section 34-8-158 may file a joint application to the Commissioner for the establishment of a group account for the purpose of sharing the cost of benefits …

(a) There is established as a trust fund, separate and apart from all other public moneys or other funds of this state, a cash deposit escrow fund, which shall be administered by the Commissioner in accordance with such regulations as he or she may prescribe. This fund shall cons…

(a) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this Code section, an employing unit liable under this chapter must apply in writing to the Commissioner prior to April 30 in order to terminate liability. If the Commissioner finds that such employer did not, during the preceding calen…

Applications for an adjustment or a refund of contributions, payments in lieu of contributions, or interest thereon, shall be submitted no later than three years from the date such amounts were assessed. Applications must be in writing. The Commissioner shall determine what amoun…

(a)(1) In accordance with such regulations as the Commissioner may prescribe, tax and wage reports shall become due and be filed by each employer on or before the last day of the month next following the end of the calendar quarter to which such reports apply. (2) With respect to…

contribution payments; (a) Contributions unpaid on the due date established by the Commissioner shall bear interest at the rate of 1.5 percent per month or any fraction of a month. Interest shall continue to accrue until all amounts due, including interest, are received by the Co…

(a) If, after due notice, any employer defaults in any payment of contributions or interest thereon, the amount due, including any penalty, may be collected by civil action maintained in the name of the Commissioner. The employer adjudged in default shall pay the cost of such act…

(a) The Commissioner or an authorized representative of the Commissioner may use garnishment to collect the tax imposed by this chapter. Garnishment may be issued by the Commissioner in the same manner as is provided for the issuance of garnishment by the state revenue commission…

(a) For the purpose of collecting delinquent contributions, interest, and penalties, the Commissioner may enter into an agreement with one or more private persons, companies, associations, or corporations providing debt collection services with respect to the collection of delinq…

(a) If any employer fails or neglects to make a report as required by Code Section 34-8-165 or by rules and regulations, the Commissioner may make an estimate based upon any information in the Commissioner’s possession of the amount of wages paid for employment in the period or p…

An employer may be enjoined from employing individuals if such employer’s reports remain unfiled or contributions remain unpaid 90 days after the end of the calendar quarter to which they apply. The Commissioner or a designee of the Commissioner may file a complaint for an injunc…

The Commissioner shall require any employee leasing company, as defined in Code Section 34-8-32, to post a surety bond or such equivalent financial securities as approved by the Commissioner in such an amount as needed to cover the total of any potential tax liability which may r…

(a) The Commissioner may release or subordinate all or any portion of the property subject to any lien obtained under provisions of this chapter if the Commissioner determines that the contributions, interest, and penalties are sufficiently secured by a lien on other property or …

In the event of any distribution of an employer’s assets pursuant to an order of any court under the laws of this state, in proceedings relating to the administration of the estate of a decedent, receivership, assignment for benefit of creditors, adjudicated insolvency, compositi…

Any employing unit which sells or transfers its business or stock of goods shall file all required tax and wage reports and pay all contributions, administrative assessments, interest, and penalties within 30 days after such sale or transfer. Such reports and payments shall inclu…

All collection, penalty, and sanction provisions in this chapter that are applicable to private employers are made equally applicable to all public employers who are liable for the payment of contributions or payments in lieu of contributions pursuant to this chapter. (Code 1981,…

Should any department or political subdivision of the state, any instrumentality of a political subdivision of the state, or any instrumentality of one or more of the foregoing become more than 120 days delinquent in contributions or payments in lieu of contributions due to the U…

Any employer may make voluntary payments in addition to the contributions required under this chapter, and the same shall be credited to the employer’s experience account; provided, however, that such voluntary contributions shall not be used in the computation of reduced rates u…

(a) For the periods on or after January 1, 2000, but on or before December 31, 2016, there is created an administrative assessment of 0.08 percent to be assessed upon all wages as defined in Code Section 34-8-49, except the wages of: (1) Those employers who have elected to make p…

(a) For the periods on or after January 1, 2000, but on or before December 31, 2016, in addition to the rate paid under Code Section 34-8-151, each new or newly covered employer shall pay an administrative assessment of 0.08 percent of wages payable by it with respect to employme…

(a) The Commissioner is authorized to collect the administrative assessment as provided in Code Section 34-8-180 and to deposit the funds in the clearing account of the Unemployment Compensation Fund created by Code Section 34-8-83; provided, however, that such funds shall not be…