House Bill 312
By: Representatives Schofield of the 63rd, Scott of the 76th, McClain of the 109th, and Davis
of the 87th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 7 of Chapter 8 of Title 34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to employment security benefits, so as to allow applicants for benefits to obtain their
personnel files when their claims are contested by their former employers; to provide for
definitions; to require the Department of Labor to modify the separation notice; to sanction
employers who fail to timely deliver personnel files; to prohibit the admissibility of certain
separation notices; to require the Commissioner of Labor to enact rules or regulations; to
provide for related matters; to provide for a short title; to provide for an effective date; to
repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Employee Empowerment and
Transparency Act."
SECTION 2.
Article 7 of Chapter 8 of Title 34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
employment security benefits, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
<ins>"34-8-200.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Claimant' means a separated employee whose employer that separated him or her
from employment is a contesting employer.
(2) 'Contesting employer' means an employer that has indicated on a separation notice
that it contends that the separated employee cannot establish the existence of any of the
statutory grounds set forth in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of Code
Section 34-8-194.
(3) 'Contesting employer's representative' means the individual who signed the separation
notice on behalf of the contesting employer.
(4) 'Deficiency notice' means a claimant's written notice contending that the personnel
file that is the subject of the written demand was not timely delivered.
(5) 'Mailing address' means a street or route address or post office box address.
(6) 'Personnel file' means:
(A) The entire unredacted personnel or employment record made or kept by a
contesting employer relating to a claimant, including, but not limited to, records
required to be maintained under Code Section 34-2-11, in addition to records relating
to hiring, promotion, demotion, transfer, layoff, separation, and termination; or
(B) A portion of such personnel or employment record made or kept by the contesting
employer when a written demand requests such designated portion of the personnel or
employment record.
Such term shall not include any documents separately maintained by an employer in a
medical file.
(7) 'Proof of delivery' means documentary proof that a contesting employer has sent the
claimant's personnel file via the delivery method specified in the written demand.
(8) 'Proof of payment' means a copy of a money order receipt, bank transaction, or
confirmation of a payment by credit card or debit card.
</ins>
<ins>(9) 'Separated employee' means an employee who is separated from employment
whether voluntarily or involuntarily.
(10) 'Separation notice' means the form that must be completed pursuant to
subsection (c) of Code Section 34-8-190 for each employee who leaves an employer's
employment regardless of the reason for separation. Such term shall not include any
forms that are completed for reasons of partial unemployment or mass separation.
(11) 'Signed writing' means either an email with the claimant's name in the body of the
email or a paper document with the claimant's signature affixed thereto.
(12) 'Statutory fee' means payment in the form of a money order, bank transaction, debit
card, or credit card in the amount of $30.00 when a claimant requests delivery of his or
her personnel file via electronic means and $40.00 when a claimant requests delivery of
his or her personnel file to a mailing address.
(13) 'Written demand' means a signed writing by the claimant that demands a copy of the
claimant's personnel file as designated by the claimant and that specifies the method of
delivery.
(b) 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.
(c) No later than September 30, 2025, the department shall modify the separation notice
to include:
(1) A section where an employer can indicate whether it contends that the separated
employee can or cannot establish the existence of any of the statutory grounds set forth
in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of Code Section 34-8-194; and
(2) An obvious notation that a separated employee is entitled to demand delivery of his
or her personnel file pursuant to this Code section if the employer has indicated on the
separation form that it contends that the separated employee cannot establish the
existence of any of the statutory grounds set forth in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2)
</ins>
<ins>of Code Section 34-8-194. Such notation shall advise the separated employee of the
deadline established in subsection (e) of this Code section.
(d) On and after October 1, 2025, a separated employee shall be deemed to have
established the existence of one or more of the statutory grounds set forth in
subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of Code Section 34-8-194 if the completed separation
notice relating to the separated employee does not indicate that the employer contends that
the separated employee cannot establish the existence of any such statutory grounds.
(e) To be entitled to receive his or her personnel file from a contesting employer, a
claimant shall send a written demand to the contesting employer's representative. Such
written demand shall be sent no later than ten calendar days after the claimant's receipt of
the separation notice.
(f) The written demand shall:
(1) Indicate whether the claimant desires to receive his or her personnel file in electronic
format via email or in paper format via delivery to a mailing address; and
(2) Include the applicable statutory fee.
(g) Within five business days of receiving a written demand and the applicable statutory
fee, a contesting employer shall be required to deliver the claimant's personnel file via the
delivery method specified in the written demand and to maintain such proof of delivery.
(h) A claimant who contends that a contesting employer failed to timely deliver his or her
personnel file shall simultaneously send a deficiency notice to the contesting employer's
representative and to the department no later than 14 calendar days after the date on which
the personnel file was required to be delivered. The deficiency notice shall include proof
of payment. 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.
</ins>
<ins>(i) Within seven business days of receiving a deficiency notice, the contesting employer
shall be required to provide proof of delivery to the claimant and to the department. The
date of receipt of the deficiency notice shall be deemed to be three business days after the
date the claimant sends a copy of the deficiency notice to the contesting employer's
representative whether by email or mail.
(j) Provided that a claimant's deficiency notice complies with subsection (h) of this Code
section, 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 if the contesting employer:
(1) Fails to produce proof of delivery by the deadline specified in subsection (i) of this
Code section; or
(2) Proof of delivery establishes that the contesting employer failed to deliver to the
claimant the personnel file within the time period established in subsection (g) of this
Code section.
(k) A separation notice indicating that an employer contends that a separated employee can
establish one or more of the statutory grounds set forth in subparagraph (B) of
paragraph (2) of Code Section 34-8-194 shall not be admissible against the employer in any
proceeding before a court of this state or the United States or before any local, state, or
federal administrative agency, other than a proceeding instituted under this chapter.
(l) The Commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary to implement and
effectuate the provisions of this Code section."
</ins> SECTION 3.
This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law
without such approval.
SECTION 4.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.