This blog has been co-authored by Alex Camardelle, Senior Policy Analyst of GBPI and Shannan Reaze, Executive Director of Atlanta Jobs with Justice
Key Takeaways:
- The historically underfunded Georgia Department of Labor (GA DOL) has not taken advantage of all opportunities to strengthen its systems and quickly get Georgians the benefits they are owed
- When the GA DOL takes longer than expected to implement programs and payout claims, workers and their families are devastated.
- Georgia workers must be at the center of efforts to improve functions and policies at GA DOL.
- The economic crisis made the state Unemployment Insurance (UI) system and Georgia workers vulnerable to fraud. Federal resources allocated to address fraud need additional oversight to guarantee efficacy.
- Employees who are misclassified and contract workers are poorly protected by current unemployment benefit policies.
- The current crisis presents an opportunity to modernize and improve the unemployment system to reflect the real needs of all workers. We recommend the activation of the department’s advisory councils as provided for by the code to present issues and propose new solutions.
Since March 2020, Georgia’s Department of Labor (GA DOL) has received over 4.3 million UI claims, a demand in benefits that the agency was not prepared to address.[1] Despite the surge, the department has not requested additional state funding to enhance operations and serve Georgians impacted by layoffs during the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] To understand worker experiences with accessing unemployment insurance from a weakened system, we asked Georgians to summarize what they want lawmakers to know about the process. One of the workers summarized the structural challenges in the following way:
“We are still effected [sic] by this COVID-19 Pandemic and I’m sick of being in this alone and I’m a tax-paying citizen, we deserve our help and support, this was the most catastrophic year in a very long time! I went almost 2 months without pay, electricity out, rent and late notices on my door, no food, no water, I lost the only job I had before this pandemic took place, my restaurant had to get shut down due to Covid-19 and I couldn’t even be able to provide for my household. I hate that it took the government so long to reach back out to us, the phones were down, whenever you would call any number on the GDOL website it would go straight to a dead line, no one were available to reach [sic], no questions could be answered, you were lucky if you received an email, it was terrible, I hate we had to endure such tragedy, it was especially rough knowing that I was only 19 at the time and with this being my first scary experience losing the only job I had, and almost losing my life!” – Grace
Instead of bold state investments, the department is relying on temporary funding from the federal government to implement new benefit programs. This policy choice limits the ability of the agency to reach all Georgia workers who need financial help in a timely manner.
GDOL Ill-equipped to Respond to All Workers
- The department’s capacity remains thin. Today, the agency employs half of the staff that it had during the Great Recession (2,219 in 2010 and only 1,066 in 2020).[3]
- One in five Georgians who applied for unemployment insurance in 2020 did not receive benefits.[4]
- It still takes more than 50 days for 80 percent of unemployment cases to be decided. The federal standard is 21 days.[5]
- And for cases that require an appeal, a woeful 96 percent – almost all – of Georgians who filed an appeal have been waiting six months or more for a decision.[6] There are over 65,000 claims awaiting an appeals decision as of February 2021.[7]
When the GA DOL takes longer than expected to implement programs and pay out claims, workers and their families are devastated. These delayed benefits worsen hardship for those who need assistance, who use the funds to pay for necessities like child care and health care, as this Georgian shared in our recent survey of Georgia’s unemployment insurance participants.
“[…] The time it takes to process and make a determination on a claim is absolutely entirely too long. The GDOL rules state that it takes 21 days to complete and pay out a claim. That information is false. It has taken months with no updates or responses from claims examiners. There are also claims being denied unjustly. There are thousands of people who have themselves, their children, and family to take care of and they are depending on money they rightfully deserve from UI. But at the same time are losing everything they have due to no fault of their own. This is unacceptable.” – Monty
Immediate State Funding Needed
Currently, funding levels at the GA DOL are too low. The current department budget request for Fiscal Year 2022 is a meager $12.7 million. This is a drop in the bucket compared to Georgia’s entire $26 billion state budget. Unfortunately, the budget request does not add funds despite the agency processing a historic 4.3 million claims in the last year. In fact, the budget request maintains cuts to the agency that were made in FY 2020.[8]
Georgia’s system has been overwhelmed by the basic task of receiving claims, and workers are frustrated. However, there are immediate steps Georgia can take to improve access, even within outdated systems. Some states are already moving to implement major structural reforms, and Georgia should follow their lead as quickly as possible. Fundamentally, lawmakers need to view an investment in the department’s technology system and workforce as an infrastructure investment that would make Georgia’s Department of Labor recession-proof for the future.
Fraud is often pointed to in conversations about UI. The fact is that fraud has always been an issue in unemployment, but the sources of fraud vary greatly. Georgia’s workers are blamed too often for fraud when the structural integrity of the GA DOL has been compromised as a result of state and federal disinvestment. Currently, the agency outsources unemployment insurance payments to a third-party company, which also creates an unaccountable space for fraud to be pervasive.
Placing the concern of fraud on the backs of workers without acknowledging frail funding at the agency paints an inaccurate picture of the root causes of the problem. To address this issue, the State might consider holding workers harmless for a period until they can appeal fraud claims. Georgia workers need due process and possibly representation as well for fraud claims arising from the vulnerabilities, poor investment, and system failures that were exposed during the 2020 crisis.
The GA DOL’s website is also not built to handle the load that it is now facing, and it is the product of disinvestment and failures to modernize as mobile applications become a larger part of day-to-day life.[9] Most states are only now scrambling to tap technology like chatbots and apps to offload work from claim examiners. It was not until November that Georgia implemented an online appointment scheduler. One of the workers we surveyed shared the following about their experience with the DOL website and attempting to get help from staff with their claim:
“[…] Pages upon pages of ‘job assistance’ and ‘what to do about fraud’ when you couldn’t get a human being on the phone or email for months. MONTHS! Honestly while I still job search like I am supposed to, it is mostly because #1) I know I cannot live on UI benefits as they are. #2) I would much rather be employed full-time and just as much be willing to risk my health due to COVID-19, [sic] than to spend another three months stuck waiting for help from the DOL with another UI claim.” – Vanessa
Even though some hiring at the department has occurred over the last year, there are still significant delays in processing unemployment insurance benefits. In addition, state workers themselves, who are disproportionately women and people of color, are subject to long hours, low pay, mandatory overtime and other conditions in the workplace that make the job stressful.[10] Adding funds to the department to hire enough staff to create a manageable workload can go a long way. Funds could even be used to hire the many Georgians who have been displaced from work.
Department of Labor Leaves Millions on Table That Could Save Jobs
In Georgia, we make layoffs one of the only choices available to employers, but there are other options. In 27 states (and more under the CARES Act provisions), employers can avoid full layoffs through a little-known program called short-time compensation, or “work share.”[11] The program allows employers to spread hour reductions across staff on a temporary basis and provides compensation to workers for lost hours, including enhanced benefits.
Since the General Assembly passed a law that gives the GA DOL the authority to implement work share programs in the summer of 2020, Georgia is eligible for 100 percent reimbursement for payments made to workers through the program.[12] However, GA DOL continues to reject the work share opportunity, leaving $3.2 million in administrative funds and millions more in reimbursed benefits on the table that could grow administrative capacity at the agency and get more Georgians the assistance they need while also helping employers keep workers on their payrolls.
Worker Voices Needed at Department of Labor
Stronger, worker-centered leadership of the GA DOL is overdue. Current law authorizes the department commissioner to appoint members to an industry advisory council, which advises the Commissioner of Labor on unemployment insurance issues, but the council is not in operation despite an economic crisis in Georgia.[13] Given the crisis, it is time to activate community leadership to inform ways GA DOL can improve services for workers who are laid off through no fault of their own.
Making sure those workers have an opportunity to provide recommendations to GA DOL based on their experiences can not only present new, innovative solutions based directly on user experience but could also ensure a more equitable system is designed.
Endnotes
[1] GBPI analysis of weekly unemployment insurance claims data published by the U.S. Department of Labor
[2] Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget. (2021, January). The governor’s budget report for fiscal year 2022. https://opb.georgia.gov/document/governors-budget-reports/afy-2021-and-fy-2022-governors-budget-report/download
[3] Butler, M. (2021, January 21). Government Affairs appropriations subcommittee hearing [PowerPoint slides].
[4] GBPI analysis of Household Pulse Survey data (2021, February), U.S. Census Bureau
[5] Ibid.
[6] U.S. Department of Labor. Benefits: Timeliness and quality reports. (2021). https://oui.doleta.gov/unemploy/btq.asp
[7] Georgia Department of Labor. (2021, 18 February). Georgia announces more than 95% payment rate for eligible regular UI claims [Press Release]. http://meltwater.pressify.io/publication/602eb9dcbbaf58000439d01c/5b296714f502c80e0024fd3a?&sh=false
[8] Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget. (2021, January). The governor’s budget report for fiscal year 2022. https://opb.georgia.gov/document/governors-budget-reports/afy-2021-and-fy-2022-governors-budget-report/download
[9] Simon-Mishel, J., Emsellem, M., Evermore, M., Leclere, E., Stettner, A., & Coven, M. (2020). Centering workers – How to modernize unemployment insurance technology. The Century Foundation. Retrieved from https://s27147.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/UI-mod-report_FINAL.pdf
[10] Camardelle, A. (2020). Tearing the fabric of Georgia’s safety net guarantees an uneven recovery. Georgia Budget and Policy Institute. https://gbpi.org/tearing-the-fabric-of-georgias-safety-net-guarantees-an-uneven-recovery/
[11] Becker, H., & Roberts, L. (2020). Improving the work sharing system to absorb employment shocks. Center for American Progress. https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/reports/2020/11/13/492886/improving-worksharing-system-absorb-employment-shocks/
[12] Gilarsky, M., Nunn, R., & Parsons, J. (2020). What is work sharing and how can it help the labor market? Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/04/16/what-is-work-sharing-and-how-can-it-help-the-labor-market/
[13] Georgia Code Title 34 – Labor and Industrial Relations Chapter 8 – Employment Security Article 3 – Administration § 34-8-72. Appointment of state and local or industry advisory councils. https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2019/title-34/chapter-8/article-3/section-34-8-72/
24 thoughts on “Delayed and Denied: Modernization Needed at Georgia DOL to Support Georgia Workers and Economy”
I have done everything to receive my unemployment benefits and I still haven’t got one payment or got a email back saying when I will receive my payment
Filed for unemployment in July. Received PUA benefit determination letter in August. Was approved for $149 for 39 weeks. I have claimed benefits weekly. All have been accepted or “processed.” Set up direct deposit . As of today March 30, 2021 I have yet to receive any payments. I am a single mother of 3 girls. After months of struggling to make ends meet we have sold almost all of our belongings and have moved in with my mother. I try to stay positive. I feel neglected and alone. I don’t know if I should reapply or continue to wait…any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I contracted for a restaurant handling their catering and had a store at smilies flea market in Macon and when COVID hit the restaurant decided to close the door and the flea market was closed for months witch then I could not pay the rent witch then lost all my inventory. I filed for unemployement and I thought things were going good. They me a way2go card, it said I was approved for $149 for 39weeks under the PUAplan. Then I go the denial letter so I appealed it. I sent all the paperwork they asked for and a letter from restaurant telling me they were closing the doors due to the loss of business due to COVID. Now one year has passed and I have not heard anything back from anyone and I am about to loose everything. My house, car, etc. I have an honest case and need honest help. I have called, emailed so many times and I am about to just give up. Please someone help!
I have been unable to login for UI benefits since November 16,2020 having been furloughed by SBA on 11/14/2020.
The DOL system keeps rejecting my W-2 supplied EIN number and no further processing is enabled.
Uncounted number of times to reach a Mrs. Brown at OL have been fruitless’
Here it is about 5 months ago and I am still unable to apply for weekly benefits.
Any effective help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks
My wife been waiting for Three months have not heard anything from anyone. This is going on 90 days now and totally ridiculous.
I filed for ui in Ga. In April last year and heard nothing until dec. I finally was able to apply for pua then only to be denied unfairly. I appeal over 3 months ago and have still not received a appeal date. Why? I am losing everything. I have had to sell almost every thing i own just to stay in my home and im near being homeless.
I had been approved for PUA and then the payments stopped. I have been waiting for an appeal decision since Jan. My payments stopped in September 2020. It took them a 4 months to ask for more information. I sent the requested info to them, yet they claimed they didn’t receive it which caused my claim to be denied. I filed an appeal in December and now it is May 2021. The response I got in a nutshell, when I finally got in touch with them, was appeals are processed in the order they are received, they are behind, the line is long, so wait in line and quit bugging them. they have no information to give me. So how many appeals are still waiting in cue? How much progress have they made since Feb? How will them opting out of the federal program in June affect the claims they are behind on and haven’t processed yet? Will we just be out of luck when they stop payments in June?
I really am so spun out mentally. I have been getting any type of person to person conversation regarding what is goimg on with my pua appeal hearing. I know that I quilfy with no doubt to receive my 40 weeks of back payments. I am about to loose everything iny life Includey imy family. They will soon be laying on someone floor N and I will have to be on the street. This stress is really not warranted
I clearly have been looked over And pushed down by people that I cant even talk to or see.
I’ve been waiting for 6 months on PUA and UI benefits. A wage verifier from GDOL verified my wages in March of 2021, it is now August 2021. I haven’t received nothing. I can’t reach no one on the phone at none of their numbers. They don’t return my email either.
I would like to say that I only just now came across this article (it’s now June 3, 2021), but it is still absolutely true. I am one of the people trying to get PUA and have been trying since July 2020. In September 2020, I received an approval for PUA, but never received a payment. I did EVERYTHING I was supposed to do according to the guidelines and instructions. It took me months to get in contact with someone. I finally received one PUA payment in March 2021, but never got another payment. Months later, I finally got in contact with someone again, and they told me I’d been denied PUA back in October 2020! But when I asked about the payment, they said, “I don’t know.” So here I am, almost a year after filing, and I’m having to start the appeals process, which will probably take another year. Meanwhile, I am B-R-O-K-E. It’s very sad that this is the condition our state is in.
I been waiting on my claims for months and still aint got a call or email
Claim started 3/27/20 to 3/27/21 and i only got 5 payments and that was it. Im Broke do spend all my Saving in my account just trying to make it and i need my claims please
I filed for UI in October 2020 and didn’t get any response to calls, text, or emails until February 2021 after I contacted my Senator’s office who contacted GDOL
Then I received notice that my claim was denied end of February. I filed an appeal 1st of March and received email saying I should receive a response in about 6 weeks
As of today July 16 2021 I have had. NO RESPONSE to my appeal or the 5 emails and several calls to follow up on the status. No phones, emails etc are being responded to. Mark Butler said in the media that GDOL was basically getting caught up. That is a lie obviously. His office has never done anything to help. He needs to go as well as the people working in the Covington office and the Appeals office
I too am sitting and waiting for the Department of Labor to make a decision on my appeal for which I was let go while hospitalized which was a violation of FMLA, but got initially denied and waiting on appeal decision. The State of Georiga leadership, including the Governor, needs to take action immediately to address how they plan on addressing the backlog of thousands of cases and getting the timeline down from 6+ months to a more acceptable timeframe. Otherwise, there is going to be a greater issue in the State of Georgia because families can’t survive and it is going to cause us to lose our homes and go hungry.
I am sure Governor Kemp is sleeping well every night at his cozy 391 West Paces Ferry Road mansion. I am going to Fedex copies of my appeal documents to the Governor’s executive team in hopes that I will get a response. I have already waited over 5 months.
I have been waiting 9 months for GDOL to answer my calls and emails. Still nothing from them about pua extension. It funny how alot of people had gotten there pua extensions but I have yet to get anything from GDOL. I lost everything a place to live my vehicle and now my storage unit. Everything I owned and my granddaughters stuff was auctioned off two weeks ago now there is nothing we have left. You say it’s taking time to process the extensions because you are so far behind. Well it looks like you would have been caught up months ago and I should have received at least a email from you or a unemployment check. Something. I have emailed you people about two different names on my pua claims no response to that either. I need this money to at least start over being that I have lost everything because you didn’t seem to be doing your job and getting the extension I should have gotten months ago. Let’s see if I get anything now that you are pulling out of the pua and all federal fundings.
Hi Angela, I dont know what to say. I’m homeless now too. I don’t have no money to pay hotel room. I can’t another apt cause o can’t show 2 1/2 times the rent even if I had money to pay for another, which I don’t have nothing now but $1.17….. that’s it! I ain’t even worth $2. I can’t believe this happened to me. I lost everything! I been waiting for 6 month on my benefits. I’ve had Covid19 2 times. I need my benefits. I couldn’t even buy school clothes and supplies for my daughter. I can’t even breathe right now. I couldn’t even get in a shelter. They not taking more people cause of Covid19. I hate Atlanta GA.
I literally lost two jobs due to the pandemic. My last job fired me after I provided proof that my 8yrs old son was quarantine. They let me work 5days than call me in to fire me. I filed for unemployment that was in Feb I haven’t received no determination letter at all about my claim it’s Aug! I finally decided to appeal remind you I appeal last week n it said I couldn’t so I did it today and they saying it was denied back in June but I didn’t receive a letter? Been calling emailing every week! I find out through me appealing my claim? But the catch is appealing is time sensitive? So they ask my why the delay in filing? Oh because I haven’t event received my letter yet! I want to sue them n my employer for false termination n pain n suffering
I filed a claim in July 2020..it took until Nov 2020 to receive a letter saying I had been denied based on a phone interview that had supposedly taken place 5 days before on a Saturday..what a LIE..those lazy people aint never called me not one single time..I filed my appeal the very same day which was Nov 12 2020 and here we are over 1 year later and I havent not 1 single word from them
I was terminated from my job January 2021 due to poor sales performance after being employed with my company for 3 years and receiving awards and promotions just months before the pandemic. The stay at home order cut our sales in half and I was the scapegoat for these numbers. The DOL denied my claim after waiting 6 months and I have now been waiting for an appeal hearing since July of 2021 with no luck receiving a phone call/letter/email back from the DOL. I have resorted to selling all of my personal belongings to cover rent for the past year. I am car-less and job-less and broke.
I just want my time in appeal hearing to explain why I was wrongfully terminated due to something that was completely out of my control.
I’m at my breaking point and I don’t know what to do.
I applied for PUA benefits back in April or May of 2020 and after waiting a few months was contacted by Brenda Baker who after reviewing all of the info I was required to submit approved my benefits and then they began. They were also approved for an extension as well. They stopped at the BYE (benefit year end) then I receive a notice that my benefits will be denied from the very beginning unless I upload proof of employment and other items which I did. A couple months later I receive a denial letter stating that my UI was denied going back to the first payment after already being approved for a year and after both approval determination letters? I filed my appeal in September 2021 and never hear back from them. Now here we are in February 2022, I receive another denial letter giving me the option to appeal. Almost as if I am repeating the whole thing I did in August 2021 which I didn’t receive an answer to. This whole process is completely unorganized, mishandled and shady. Its almost as if the government is trying to take back all the benefits/ money anyway they can as they blame or accuse the public for wrongdoing or mistakes when it is they themselves who are in the wrong here. Not only did they cause most everyone to lose their jobs, homes, cars etc. but now they want back all of the little bit they promised to help with back which comes nowhere close to being enough to compensate for the disastrous situation they put us into with lockdowns, business and school closures. It makes me feel as if they are purposely ruining lives because this could have been handled so much more organized than it has been. They are deliberately shutting people out without explanation. Surely our government cant be completely full of incompetent idiots?
I am an independent contractor I file for unemployment March of 2020 I worked one month out of that year for a company for somebody else to make a little extra money when the approved my unemployment they approved it for regular unemployment at $55 a week instead of pua shortly after that it ended without any notice or any reason it’s been almost 2 years I’m still fighting it no one has returned my calls or my emails it’s ridiculous
I applied for PUA in March of 2020. Waited 9 months to finally hear something back, which was a denial, with the reason being that my last day of employment was before the “official start” of the pandemic so I wasn’t unemployed due to the pandemic. They didn’t take into consideration that I’m self employed and had future gigs lined up that were canceled on me due to fears of Covid. So I was, indeed, unemployed completely due to the pandemic. So I appealed in December 2020. It’s now November 3, 2022 and I just got off the phone with a representative from the Georgia Department of Labor that stated that I still have not been scheduled for my appeal hearing. It’s been TWO YEARS since I filed my appeal and I still don’t have a date yet? What the heck is going on? This is disgusting how taxpaying citizens are being treated after becoming unemployed due to no fault of their own. However, if I owed them for some reason and were to delay paying them for even a few months, I would probably be sitting in jail!!!
Curious to see how many have received the benefits they were due?
My situation is the same as most with an additional twist.
My benefit year ran 2/2019 thru 2/2020.
I was laid off 3/14/2020.
Attempted to file on 4/5/2020.
GDOL UI site was still using the four digit pin as your password.
The site kept opening my claim that ended 2/2020.
I attempted to file a new claim but was unable too. The site instructed me that my eligibility was pending a determination and would be contacted by GDOL representative if any additional information was needed.
Attempted to file my weekly claim certification but the system would never accept it.
I was able to do the following:
1. go paperless for the 1099-G IRS electronic delivery.
2. Update my email address
3. Update my address & contact information.
After I updated my contact information I received a Georgia UI Way2GoCard about a week later.
I never requested it?
My payments were to be direct deposited from my 2019/2020 claim.
December 6, 2020 I emailed Gov. Kemp’s office.
December 8th his office responded stating my information was referred to the GDOL for review and a response will come directly from their agency.
Was also given the contact info for the main GDOL UI office at
148 Andrew Young International Blvd.
downtown with the main 404-232-7300 phone number.
Like most I could either not get thru, when you did, the message stated to leave your name and number (twice) and someone would return your call.
On January 4th, 2021 I attempted every GDOL UI number listed!
After 8 months of calling the first live person I spoke with was a woman at the veteran services number listed on the GDOL site.
She quickly informed me that VS had no connection with the GDOL
I continued calling the main number, rang busy as usual.
I decided at 1:00pm to begin calling again, since that’s when they returned from lunch and was hoping for the lines to be clear.
At 1:07 pm the 404-232-3001 number rang.
The message this time stated to hold on and the next available representative would assist me.
So I was finally on hold, praying I wouldn’t be disconnected.
I continued to hold for 3 hours and 17 minutes.
At 4:24pm a woman took my call.
I explained my issues of attempting to file since April 2020.
She took my information, asked me to hold while she pulled up my claim.
Moments later she returned and informed me my claim benefit year had expired.
That I need to file a new claim.
Informed her I have attempted to on numerous occasions but the system would not let me, due to the existing outstanding pending determination.
She emphatically stated that there were no issues with the GDOL UI website.
She asked if I was logging in on a mobile device or a computer.
I stated it was my laptop,
Her response was that I reboot my computer and was there anything else she could help me with.
I asked about what activity was on file for my claim that ended February 2020.
She quickly responded with their were no reports for weekly benefits filed and that I needed to file a new claim.
I asked about backdating my claim to April of 2020 when I first attempted to file.
She stated I was not eligible for those weeks because I did not submit the weekly reports as required.
My final question to her: What was the decision on the the pending determination listed on my UI portal.
She took a moment and informed me she did not have that information available.
After 8 months of continuous attempts to contact the GDOL UI division.
I was dismissed and spoken at, in a very condescending manner in less than 3 minutes.
Let’s fast forward to February of 2023.
I’m still attempting to get the UI, SEB, FPUC, PUA, PEUC, LWA benefits that i believe I am entitled too
Provided we have legitimate supporting documentation and attempted to file during the 2020 year from March 14, 2020 on.
On 3/13/20 when the National Emergency Declaration was signed by the POTUS.
The following day Gov. Kemp declared the Public Health State of Emergency for the state of Georgia.
There is a fair amount of supporting documentation available to substantiate & validate the claim that the GDOL was Ill prepared to handle the needs of the workers who became victims of the system thru no fault of their own.
I’ve found an email address:
calsgdolui@yahoo.com
that is requesting information from individuals with similar experiences attempting to qualify and receive pandemic related payments from the GDOL UI division.
Hope my story helps someone else with a similar experience.
Its 7/31/2023 I had to file an appeal with DOL on 6/7/23 and still have not received a reply or hearing date. I call the called the commissioners office and they told me they were still trying to catch up on all the appeals and have no idea when Ill hear back.