SB 191: Employment Security; certain notice provisions relating to benefits and appeals; revise

Georgia's unemployment insurance system, run through the Department of Labor under Chapter 8 of Title 34, gives workers and employers a limited window (15 days) to appeal decisions about benefits. Currently that clock starts when a notice was mailed or delivered. This bill creates a new legal term, 'issue date,' defined as the date the department releases a determination or decision by mail, hand delivery, or electronically with the party's consent, and requires that date to be printed on the document itself. The bill then rewrites several sections of the unemployment law so that the 15-day deadlines for reconsideration, appeal to a hearing officer, appeal to the board of review, board reconsideration, and judicial review all run from this printed issue date instead of the mailing date. It also lets the Commissioner of Labor adopt administrative rules to adjust these time limits, as long as the rules remain consistent with due process. The changes take effect January 1, 2026.

• Creates a new definition of 'issue date' in Georgia's unemployment law (O.C.G.A. § 34-8-53) as the date the Department of Labor releases a decision by mail, hand delivery, or electronic means.
• Requires the issue date to be printed directly on determinations and decisions sent by the department.
• Changes the start of the 15-day deadline to appeal or request reconsideration of a benefits determination from the mailing date to the printed issue date (O.C.G.A. § 34-8-192).
• Changes when hearing officer decisions become final for appeal purposes, from the date of mailing or notification to the printed issue date (O.C.G.A. § 34-8-220).
• Changes the timing rules for board of review decisions to become final and for board reconsideration, from mailing date to issue date (O.C.G.A. § 34-8-221).
• Changes when a board of review decision becomes final for purposes of judicial review, from mailing date to issue date (O.C.G.A. § 34-8-223).

Workers who file for unemployment benefits, employers involved in unemployment claims, Georgia Department of Labor staff who issue determinations and decisions, administrative hearing officers, the board of review, and the courts that handle judicial review of unemployment decisions.

Because appeal deadlines determine whether a worker or employer can challenge an unemployment decision, tying the clock to a printed issue date rather than a mailing date could make it clearer and more consistent for people to know exactly when their time to appeal starts and ends.

• Section 1 adds new Code Section 34-8-53, defining 'issue date' and requiring it to appear on department determinations and decisions, and lets the Commissioner set related rules by administrative rule.
• Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 34-8-192(c) so the 15-day window to seek reconsideration or appeal a determination runs from the issue date printed on the determination, not the mailing date.
• Section 3 revises O.C.G.A. § 34-8-220(b) so appeals of a hearing officer's decision must be initiated within 15 days of 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 board reconsideration deadlines run, from the printed issue date rather than the mailing date.
• Section 5 revises O.C.G.A. § 34-8-223(a) so judicial review deadlines are tied to the issue date printed on the board's decision.
• Section 6 sets the effective date as January 1, 2026.
• Section 7 repeals conflicting laws.

1. 2026-01-01Effective Date
2. 2025-05-14Act 292
3. 2025-05-14Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
4. 2025-04-07Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
5. 2025-03-31House Passed/Adopted (House)
6. 2025-03-31House Third Readers (House)
7. 2025-03-13House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
8. 2025-03-11House Second Readers (House)

• Shawn Still (R, SD-48)Primary sponsor
• Clint Dixon (R, SD-45)
• Drew Echols (R, SD-49)
• Chuck Hufstetler (R, SD-52)
• Larry Walker, III (R, SD-20)
• Jutt Howard (R, HD-71)

1. PassedSenate voteMarch 6, 2025

   38 yea, 16 nay (1 not voting, 1 excused)

   PASSAGE: Senate Vote #198

2. PassedHouse voteMarch 31, 2025

   146 yea, 16 nay (5 not voting, 13 excused)

   PASSAGE: House Vote #374

• unemployment benefits
• employment security
• appeals process
• Georgia Department of Labor