HB292: HB292 Income tax; certification of certain employers as living wage employers; provide

Under current Georgia law there is no certification program recognizing employers who pay especially high wages, and no tax credit tied to it. This bill creates a new program run by the Department of Community Affairs that lets employers with at least five employees, all in 'living wage jobs,' apply for certification as a living wage employer. A living wage job is defined as full-time work of 30 hours or more per week, with no set end date, paying at least $15.00 per hour, and located in Georgia. Certified employers can advertise their status, but lose certification if they drop below three qualifying employees or pay anyone less than $15 an hour. They must self-report violations, and the commissioner of community affairs can suspend violators from the program for one to five years. Certified employers get a $3,500 income tax credit for each newly hired employee (hired on or after January 1, 2026) who stays in a living wage job for a full year, once per employee, with unused credit carried forward up to three years. The law would take effect July 1, 2025, applying to tax years starting on or after January 1, 2026.

• Creates a new certification program at the Department of Community Affairs for employers who pay all employees at least $15 per hour in full-time jobs with no set end date.
• Requires certified employers to use the federal E-Verify employment verification system to qualify.
• Grants a $3,500 state income tax credit for each new employee hired on or after January 1, 2026 who stays in a living wage job for one continuous year.
• Strips certification from employers who drop below three qualifying employees or pay any worker under $15 an hour, with possible one to five year suspension from the program.
• Limits the credit to once per employee and caps annual use at the employer's tax liability, allowing unused credit to carry forward up to three years.
• Directs the state revenue commissioner and the commissioner of community affairs to write rules to administer the program.

Georgia businesses and organizations of various legal forms that pay workers at least $15 an hour and use E-Verify, particularly employers with five or more qualifying employees; new hires in those jobs; and the Department of Community Affairs and Department of Revenue, which would administer certification and the tax credit.

Employers already paying higher wages could get a financial incentive and a marketing label to attract customers or workers, while those seeking certification must commit to sustained pay minimums and federal work-authorization checks or risk losing the credit and being suspended from the program for years.

• Adds new Code section 48-7-40.37 to Georgia's income tax law (O.C.G.A. § 48-7 Article 2) creating the living wage employer program.
• Defines 'employer' to require use of the federal E-Verify system and business activity in Georgia, and defines 'living wage job' as full-time, permanent, in-state work paying at least $15.00 per hour.
• Employers with five or more employees all in living wage jobs may apply to the Department of Community Affairs for certification; losing three or more qualifying employees or paying under $15 an hour ends certification.
• Provides a $3,500 tax credit per newly hired qualifying employee retained for one year, usable once per employee and only while the employer remains certified.
• Caps the credit at the employer's tax liability for the year, allows carrying forward unused credit for three years, and bars applying it to past years' taxes.
• Requires the commissioner of revenue and the commissioner of community affairs to issue rules and forms to run the program.
• Effective July 1, 2025, applying to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.

1. 2025-02-10House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-02-06House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-05House Hopper (House)

• Anissa Jones (D, HD-143)Primary sponsor
• Dewey McClain (D, HD-109)
• Debbie Buckner (D, HD-137)
• Karen Mathiak (R, HD-082)
• Yasmin Neal (D, HD-079)
• Lisa Campbell (D, HD-035)

• income tax credits
• minimum wage and pay standards
• small business incentives
• state certification programs
• E-Verify employment checks