Georgia CommonsHB 312: Employee Empowerment and Transparency Act; enact
Last action February 11, 2025 · House Second Readers
House Bill 312 would let Georgia workers whose unemployment benefits are contested by a former employer demand a copy of their personnel file, with strict deadlines and penalties if employers don't comply.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Introduced version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
Under current Georgia law, when someone applies for unemployment benefits, their former employer can contest the claim by arguing the worker doesn't meet the legal requirements to collect benefits (O.C.G.A. § 34-8-194). This bill, called the Employee Empowerment and Transparency Act, gives workers in that situation a new right: to demand and receive their personnel file from the employer contesting their claim. Starting October 1, 2025, the Department of Labor must revise its separation notice form so employers must state whether they are contesting a claim, and workers must be clearly told about their right to request their file. Workers have 10 days after getting the notice to send a written demand along with a fee ($30 for email delivery, $40 for mail), and employers have 5 business days to send the file. If an employer misses that deadline and the worker properly complains within 14 days, the employer loses the right to appeal the benefits decision. The bill also makes certain contested separation notices inadmissible in other court or agency proceedings and directs the Commissioner of Labor to write implementing rules. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it.
What the bill does
- Creates a new Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 34-8-200) letting a separated employee demand their personnel file from an employer that is contesting their unemployment benefits claim.
- Requires the Department of Labor to redesign the separation notice form by September 30, 2025 so employers must state whether they contest the worker's eligibility.
- Sets a firm timeline: workers have 10 days to demand their file, employers have 5 business days to deliver it, and workers have 14 days to report a missed deadline.
- Penalizes employers who miss the delivery deadline by barring them from appealing or seeking reconsideration of a benefits decision in that case.
- Makes a separation notice where the employer disputes the worker's eligibility inadmissible as evidence in most other court or agency proceedings.
- Directs the Commissioner of Labor to issue rules and regulations to carry out the new personnel file process.
Who it affects
Georgia workers who lose their jobs and file for unemployment benefits, especially those whose eligibility is disputed by a former employer; private and public employers who must revise how they handle separation notices and respond to file requests; and the Department of Labor, which must update its forms and enforce the new deadlines.
Why it matters
Workers fighting for unemployment benefits would gain a faster, defined way to get their own personnel records to support their case, while employers face new paperwork deadlines, fees, and the risk of losing their right to appeal a benefits decision if they miss those deadlines.
Key provisions
- Section 2 adds new Code Section 34-8-200, defining terms like 'contesting employer,' 'personnel file,' 'written demand,' and 'statutory fee' ($30 for electronic delivery, $40 for mail).
- Subsection (c) requires the Department of Labor to revise the separation notice by September 30, 2025 to flag contested claims and notify workers of their file-request rights.
- Subsection (d) says a worker is automatically treated as eligible for benefits if the employer's separation notice doesn't clearly state it is contesting eligibility.
- Subsections (e) through (g) set the timeline: a 10-day window for the worker's written demand, and a 5-business-day window for the employer to deliver the file.
- Subsections (h) and (i) require a worker who says the file arrived late to file a 'deficiency notice' within 14 days, giving the employer 7 more business days to prove delivery.
- Subsection (j) bars a contesting employer from appealing or seeking reconsideration of a benefits award if it fails to prove timely delivery of the personnel file.
- Subsection (k) makes certain contested separation notices inadmissible in other court or administrative proceedings outside the unemployment benefits process.
- Section 3 sets the effective date as the date the Governor signs the bill or it otherwise becomes law without his signature.
From the bill
“Any claimant separated from employment on and after October 1, 2025, shall be entitled to receive from the contesting employer a copy of his or her personnel file.”
“A failure to timely and simultaneously send a deficiency notice to the contesting employer's representative and the department or a failure to include proof of payment shall extinguish a claimant's ability under this Code section to obtain his or her personnel file.”
“a contesting employer shall, in connection with a claim for benefits filed by the claimant, be prohibited from applying for reconsideration of the initial determination of benefits pursuant to Code Section 34-8-192 or otherwise appealing a determination that the claimant is entitled to benefits”
Status timeline
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Kim Schofield (D, HD-063)
- Sandra Scott (D, HD-076)
- Dewey McClain (D, HD-109)
- Viola Davis (D, HD-087)
Topics
- unemployment benefits
- workers' rights
- personnel records
- Department of Labor
- employment law