HB 1425: Worker Tariff Relief Program Act; enact

Georgia law currently has no program specifically aimed at workers hurt by tariffs or trade disruptions. HB1425 would add a new chapter to Title 34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated creating the Worker Tariff Relief Program, run by the Department of Labor. The program would help 'covered individuals' who lose jobs, get furloughed, have hours cut, or take a significant pay cut because of federal tariffs, retaliatory trade actions, supply chain shifts, or lost export markets. The department could offer temporary income support (capped so total benefits do not exceed 80 percent of a worker's prior average weekly wage), job placement and career counseling, short-term training tied to in-demand jobs, and help with transportation or child care. Assistance would generally last up to 26 weeks, though the department could extend it by rule. Funding depends entirely on money the General Assembly appropriates, and if demand exceeds available funds the department could prorate payments. The department must file an annual report to the Governor and legislature, without identifying individuals.

• Creates the Worker Tariff Relief Program inside the Department of Labor to help workers hurt by federal tariffs or trade disruptions.
• Defines who qualifies as a 'covered individual,' meaning someone who lost a job, was furloughed, had hours cut, or took a significant pay cut due to trade disruption.
• Authorizes four types of assistance: temporary income support, job placement help, workforce training, and support services like child care or transportation.
• Caps income support so total state and federal benefits do not exceed 80 percent of a worker's prior average weekly wage, and limits assistance to 26 weeks unless extended by rule.
• Ties all funding to state appropriations, letting the department prorate payments if requests exceed available money, and requires an annual report to the Governor and General Assembly.

Georgia workers who lose jobs, hours, or wages because of tariffs or trade disruptions; the Department of Labor, which would administer the new program; and employers, industry groups, and economic development agencies the department may coordinate with while running it.

Workers in industries hit by tariffs or trade shifts could get extra cash aid, job training, and support services beyond what unemployment insurance already covers, but only if the General Assembly funds the program, and the department could cut payments proportionally if money runs short.

• Section 34-11-1 states the program's purpose: helping workers hurt by tariffs, retaliatory trade actions, or related trade disruptions get back to work.
• Section 34-11-2 defines key terms including 'covered individual,' 'employment disruption,' and 'trade disruption,' setting the boundaries of who can qualify.
• Section 34-11-4 lists the four categories of assistance and caps combined state and federal wage-replacement benefits at 80 percent of a worker's prior average weekly wage.
• Section 34-11-4(b) limits assistance to 26 weeks, though the department may extend that period by rule.
• Section 34-11-5 lets the department verify claims through employer attestations or industry data and prioritize hard-hit industries or regions; it also allows prorating benefits if funding falls short.
• Section 34-11-6 requires the department to write implementing rules and file an annual report to the Governor and General Assembly on people served, assistance types, and reemployment outcomes.
• Section 34-11-7 clarifies the program creates no entitlement beyond appropriated funds and that its benefits are secondary to and offset by other unemployment or trade adjustment assistance.

1. 2026-02-26House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-02-25House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-24House Hopper (House)

• Spencer Frye (D, HD-122)Primary sponsor
• Dewey McClain (D, HD-109)
• Eric Gisler (D, HD-121)
• Edna Jackson (D, HD-165)
• Park Cannon (D, HD-058)
• Gabriel Sanchez (D, HD-042)

• unemployment assistance
• tariffs and trade
• workforce training
• Department of Labor
• job loss support