SB191: SB191 Employment Security; certain notice provisions relating to benefits and appeals; revise

Georgia's unemployment insurance system, run through the Department of Labor under Chapter 8 of Title 34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, gives workers and employers 15 days to appeal decisions about benefits. Under current law that 15-day clock generally starts from the date a notice was mailed or delivered. This bill changes the trigger to a new 'issue date,' defined as the date the department releases a determination or decision by mail, hand delivery, or electronically with the party's consent, and requires that date to be printed on the document itself. The bill applies this change consistently across the initial determination and redetermination process, hearing officer decisions, board of review decisions and reconsiderations, and judicial review deadlines. It also lets the Commissioner adopt administrative rules to adjust these time limits, as long as the rules stay consistent with due process. The changes would take effect January 1, 2026.

• Adds a new definition of 'issue date' to Georgia's unemployment insurance law, meaning the date the Department of Labor releases a determination or decision by mail, hand delivery, or electronic transmission.
• Requires the issue date to be printed on every determination or decision the department issues.
• Changes the 15-day deadline to request reconsideration or appeal an initial benefits determination so it runs from the printed issue date instead of the mailing date (O.C.G.A. § 34-8-192).
• Changes the 15-day deadline for appealing a hearing officer's decision to the board of review so it runs from the issue date rather than the notification or mailing date (O.C.G.A. § 34-8-220).
• Changes when board of review decisions become final and how long the board has to reconsider its own decisions, tying both to the issue date instead of the mailing date (O.C.G.A. § 34-8-221).
• Changes the deadline for seeking judicial review of a final board of review decision to run from the issue date printed on the decision (O.C.G.A. § 34-8-223).

Georgia workers who file for unemployment benefits, employers involved in benefit disputes, administrative hearing officers, the Department of Labor's board of review, and the courts that handle judicial review of unemployment decisions are all affected by this change in appeal deadlines.

Because appeal deadlines currently run from when a notice was mailed, delays in the mail could shrink the real time a worker or employer has to respond. Tying deadlines to a printed issue date gives people a fixed, visible date to calculate their 15 days to appeal.

• Section 1 creates new Code Section 34-8-53, defining 'issue date' and requiring it be printed on determinations and decisions, while letting the Commissioner adjust time limits by rule if consistent with due process.
• Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 34-8-192(c) so an initial determination becomes final 15 days after the issue date printed on it, rather than 15 days after mailing.
• Section 3 revises O.C.G.A. § 34-8-220(b) so a hearing officer's decision becomes final 15 days after the issue date printed on it unless further appeal is filed.
• Section 4 revises O.C.G.A. § 34-8-221(a) and (b), tying finality of board of review decisions and the board's own reconsideration window to the printed issue date.
• Section 5 revises O.C.G.A. § 34-8-223(a) so judicial review deadlines run from the issue date printed on the board's decision.
• Section 6 sets the effective date as January 1, 2026.
• Section 7 repeals conflicting laws.

1. 2025-05-14Effective Date 2026-01-01
2. 2025-05-14Act 292
3. 2025-05-14Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
4. 2025-04-07Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
5. 2025-03-31House Passed/Adopted (House)
6. 2025-03-31House Third Readers (House)
7. 2025-03-13House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
8. 2025-03-11House Second Readers (House)

• Shawn Still (R, SD-048)Primary sponsor
• Clint Dixon (R, SD-045)
• Drew Echols (R, SD-049)
• Chuck Hufstetler (R, SD-052)
• Larry Walker (R, SD-020)
• Jutt Howard (R, HD-071)

1. PassedSenate voteMarch 6, 2025

   38 yea, 16 nay (1 not voting, 1 absent)

   Passage: Senate Vote #198

2. PassedHouse voteMarch 31, 2025

   146 yea, 16 nay (5 not voting, 13 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #374

• unemployment benefits
• employment security
• appeals process
• Georgia Department of Labor
• administrative law