---
title: HB 680. Labor and industrial relations; prohibit certain employers that do not provide affordable health insurance benefits from requiring certain employees to provide a doctor's note when absent from work
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb680
cite_as: HB 680, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb680
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb680.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb680/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70982
date: 2025-03-03
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-12
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb680.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 680
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-02-27
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Gabriel Sanchez
- Long Tran
- Michelle Au
- Jasmine Clark
- Kim Schofield
- Marvin Lim
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB680/2025
upstream_id: 1987846
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- labor law
- employee sick leave
- health insurance affordability
- workplace rights
---
# HB 680. Labor and industrial relations; prohibit certain employers that do not provide affordable health insurance benefits from requiring certain employees to provide a doctor's note when absent from work
## Text
House Bill 680
By: Representatives Sanchez of the 42nd, Tran of the 80th, Au of the 50th, Clark of the 108th,
Schofield of the 63rd, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Title 34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to labor and industrial
relations, so as to prohibit certain employers that do not provide affordable health insurance
benefits from requiring certain employees to provide a doctor's note when absent from work;
to provide for definitions; to provide for rules and regulations; to provide for related matters;
to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Title 34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to labor and industrial relations,
is amended in Chapter 1, relating to general provisions, by adding a new Code section to read
as follows:
"34-1-11.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Affordable health insurance benefits' means the least expensive health insurance
benefits where the cost of self-only coverage does not exceed 9.02 percent of the area's
median annual household income where the employee resides.
(2) 'Employee' means an individual who works for salary, wages, or other remuneration
for an employer for at least 20 hours per week and has worked for such employer for at
least 31 days.
(3) 'Employer' means any individual or entity that employs six or more employees.
(4) 'Health insurance benefits' means a health insurance plan or similar product that an
employer offers to an employee and is designed to provide coverage for healthcare
services. Such term includes, but is not limited to, a group health plan, health
reimbursement arrangement, or wellness stipend.
(b) An employer that does not provide affordable health insurance benefits shall not
require an employee to provide a doctor's note or other documentation of a healthcare
service when such employee is absent from work.
(c) The department shall adopt rules and regulations for the purpose of implementing the
provisions of this Code section."
SECTION 2.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.
A Georgia House bill would bar employers with six or more workers from demanding a doctor's note for missed work if they do not offer affordable health insurance, defined as coverage costing no more than 9.02 percent of the local median household income.
### Plain-language summary
Right now, many Georgia employers can require workers to bring a doctor's note or other proof of a healthcare visit any time they miss work, regardless of whether that employer offers health coverage. This bill would change that for employers with six or more employees. If such an employer does not provide affordable health insurance benefits, defined as the cheapest available self-only coverage costing no more than 9.02 percent of the median household income in the area where the employee lives, the employer could no longer require a doctor's note or other documentation of a healthcare service from an eligible absent employee.
The protection applies to employees who work at least 20 hours a week and have been with the employer at least 31 days. The bill adds a new section to Georgia's labor code (O.C.G.A. Title 34) and directs the Georgia Department of Labor to write rules to carry it out. It does not include a stated effective date beyond the standard process for new laws.
### What it does
- Creates a new Georgia law (O.C.G.A. ยง 34-1-11) barring certain employers from requiring a doctor's note for an employee's work absence.
- Limits this ban to employers with six or more employees that do not offer 'affordable' health insurance benefits, a term the bill defines by a cost formula tied to local median income.
- Defines 'affordable' as self-only coverage costing no more than 9.02 percent of the median annual household income in the employee's area.
- Restricts the protection to employees working at least 20 hours per week who have worked for the employer for at least 31 days.
- Directs the Georgia Department of Labor to adopt rules and regulations to implement the new requirement.
### Who it affects
Georgia employers with six or more employees that do not offer affordable health coverage, and their employees who work at least 20 hours a week and have been employed at least 31 days. The Georgia Department of Labor is also affected because it must write implementing rules.
### Why it matters
Workers at covered employers without affordable health coverage would no longer have to produce a doctor's note to justify missing work, which can be hard to get quickly or afford. Employers in that situation would lose a documentation tool they may currently use to verify absences.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 adds new Code section 34-1-11 to Georgia's labor and industrial relations title (O.C.G.A. Title 34).
- Defines 'affordable health insurance benefits' as the cheapest self-only coverage costing no more than 9.02 percent of the area's median annual household income.
- Defines 'employee' as someone working at least 20 hours per week for at least 31 days for the employer, and 'employer' as any entity with six or more employees.
- Defines 'health insurance benefits' broadly to include group health plans, health reimbursement arrangements, or wellness stipends.
- Subsection (b) prohibits a covered employer without affordable coverage from requiring a doctor's note or other documentation of a healthcare service for an absence.
- Subsection (c) directs the Georgia Department of Labor to adopt rules and regulations implementing the section.
- Section 2 repeals conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-02-27)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2025-03-03)
- Sponsors: Gabriel Sanchez, Long Tran, Michelle Au, Jasmine Clark, Kim Schofield, Marvin Lim
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70982
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb680.md?full=1