ATLANTA (AP) – Georgians on unemployment benefits will have to look for work again and be able to earn less before unemployment benefits begin to fall on June 27th.
Labor Commissioner Mark Butler announced the changes Thursday, also saying employers, with many laid-off workers receiving benefits, will face higher unemployment insurance taxes after that date.
It’s another tightening of Georgia unemployment benefits as Butler and other Republican elected leaders say the state needs to do more to get people into the workplace.
Georgia announced last month that it will be on unemployment benefits longer than the state from age 27. These federal programs last until September.
Butler had previously signaled that he would reintroduce job search requirements, which is underway in more than three-quarters of the states. Employers are also asked to report if employees refuse to return to work or decline a job offer, which could result in employees losing benefits in the future. To continue receiving benefits after June 26, Georgia residents must register at EmployGeorgia.com.
“We adjusted many of our regulations during the pandemic to make it easier to obtain benefits during the crisis and now those changes are no longer necessary,” Butler said in a statement.
For more than a year, Georgia workers on short-time work have been able to earn up to $ 300 a week before their unemployment benefits are cut. That meant workers could earn up to $ 665 in wages and benefits, taking into account Georgia’s maximum weekly unemployment benefit of $ 365 per week. The minimum state benefit is $ 55 per week.
Now that income limit will drop to $ 150 per week, which means that a reduced hours employee can earn a maximum of $ 515 per week before they are not eligible for benefits.
That income limit was $ 50 per week before the pandemic. Butler initially overturned it under the Emergency Agency given to him by Governor Brian Kemp, but lawmakers gave Butler the power to set it between $ 50 and $ 300 in 2020. Butler spokespersons didn’t immediately respond Thursday to questions about whether Butler intended to keep the threshold at $ 150 permanently.
Government unemployment benefits are usually financed through employer taxes, and companies that lay off workers usually have to pay higher rates. But during the pandemic, the state did not penalize companies that laid off many workers. This will also end from June 27th, later claims will be offset against an employer. In addition, companies can only make claims for workers who show they have been laid off for six weeks with no income. After that, the state regards the workers as permanently separated and the workers must later make claims themselves.
About 22,000 Georgians filed new jobless claims in the week ending June 5, a number that has declined but is four times above pre-pandemic levels for this time of year.
About 125,000 people received traditional unemployment benefits from the state on May 29. Another 157,000 Georgians have received pandemic unemployment benefits, which are federally funded to provide benefits to those normally not eligible for unemployment, including the self-employed, independent contractors, gig workers, or nonprofit workers.
An unreported number received expanded benefits under the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, which provides for an additional 13 weeks of federal benefits after the state’s 26 weeks. Unlike most states, Georgia has never programmed its computers to report this weekly number to federal officials and state spokesmen who did not respond immediately to inquiries.
___
Follow Jeff Amy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/jeffamy.
