Georgia CommonsHouse · Engrossed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 569: Labor and industrial relations; employment security; benefits and appeals; revise certain notice provisions
Last action March 6, 2025 · Senate Read and Referred
A Georgia House bill would change how deadlines are counted in unemployment insurance appeals, switching from the date a notice was mailed to a printed 'issue date' on the decision itself.
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 the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Georgia's unemployment insurance system (administered under Chapter 8 of Title 34) gives workers and employers a set number of days to appeal decisions about benefits eligibility. Currently, that clock starts when a notice was mailed or delivered. This bill would replace that standard with a new, printed 'issue date' on each determination or decision, defined as the date the Department of Labor releases the decision by mail, hand delivery, or electronically with consent. The bill adds a new Code section defining 'issue date' and letting the Commissioner set administrative rules for waiving or adjusting time limits, as long as they remain consistent with due process. It then updates several existing Code sections, covering initial determinations, hearing officer decisions, board of review decisions, and judicial review, so that the 15 day appeal windows all run from the issue date instead of the mailing date. The changes would take effect January 1, 2026.
What the bill does
- Creates a new Code section (34-8-53) defining 'issue date' as the date the Department of Labor releases a determination or decision by mail, hand delivery, or electronic means.
- Requires the issue date to be printed directly on determinations and decisions issued by the department.
- Lets the Commissioner adopt administrative rules to waive, alter, extend, or set aside appeal time limits, as long as the rules stay consistent with due process.
- Changes the 15 day deadline to apply for 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 to appeal a hearing officer's decision so it runs from the printed issue date instead of the notification or mailing date (O.C.G.A. § 34-8-220).
- Changes when board of review decisions become final and when they can be reconsidered, tying both to the printed issue date instead of the mailing date (O.C.G.A. §§ 34-8-221, 34-8-223).
Who it affects
Georgians who apply for unemployment benefits, employers involved in unemployment claims, the Georgia Department of Labor, administrative hearing officers, the board of review, and anyone pursuing judicial review of a benefits decision.
Why it matters
Because appeal deadlines currently depend on mailing dates, disputes can arise over when a notice actually went out. Tying the clock to a printed issue date could make deadlines clearer and easier to verify for workers and employers navigating unemployment benefit appeals.
Key provisions
- Section 1 adds Code Section 34-8-53, defining 'issue date' and authorizing the Commissioner to adjust time limits by rule, subject to due process.
- Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 34-8-192(c) so the 15 day window to seek reconsideration or appeal an initial determination starts from the issue date printed on the determination.
- Section 3 revises O.C.G.A. § 34-8-220(b) so the 15 day window to appeal a hearing officer's decision starts from the issue date printed on the decision.
- Section 4 revises O.C.G.A. § 34-8-221(a) and (b) so board of review decisions become final, and can be reconsidered, based on the printed issue date rather than the mailing date.
- Section 5 revises O.C.G.A. § 34-8-223(a) so judicial review timing is based on the issue date printed on the board's decision.
- Section 6 sets the effective date as January 1, 2026.
From the bill
“the term 'issue date' means the date on which the department releases a determination or decision to an interested party by mail, hand delivery, or with the consent of the party, electronically”
“The issue date shall be printed on a determination or decision issued by the department.”
Discussed in meetings (1)
The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.
Senate Insurance and Labor Committee, March 26, 2026
From 0:49:46 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The presenter said the substitute would exclude workers from Georgia workers’ compensation when their employer provides federal Longshore Act coverage. The presenter estimated about 5,000 affected workers and argued that removing overlapping premiums, claims and litigation would improve competitiveness without reducing benefits. The presenter cited weekly benefits of $2,083 federally versus $800 in Georgia. A Georgia Matters witness representing employers supported those arguments. Members questioned claim delays, coverage for mixed duties and possible lost benefits. A physician member disputed the presenter’s claim that Georgia medical payment rates were below Medicare. The State Board of Workers’ Compensation chair said the board’s study was neutral, states take differing approaches, and both systems allow prompt filing. The board chair said employers would save premiums, but acknowledged differences in worker protections, including an easier federal route to ending temporary total disability payments. An attorney opposing the bill warned that contested federal claims could delay surgery for five years and described coverage disputes in another state. The attorney said employers receive credit for benefits already paid, preventing duplicate recovery. An AFL-CIO witness requested more study and said the language reaches beyond union longshore workers. A longshoremen’s representative described state coverage as a backstop and disputed the competitiveness argument. The chair postponed action for more information. No vote was taken.
Status timeline
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Jutt Howard (R, HD-71)
- Bill Werkheiser (R, HD-157)
Votes
- House voteMarch 4, 2025
170 yea, 0 nay (3 not voting, 7 excused)
Topics
- unemployment benefits
- employment security
- appeals deadlines
- labor law