Official Code of Georgia Annotated

Title 34. LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS · Chapter 9. WORKERS’ COMPENSATION · Article 7. COMPENSATION SCHEDULES

34-9-261. Compensation for total disability.

Active

Current through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

While the disability to work resulting from an injury is temporarily total, the employer shall pay or cause to be paid to the employee a weekly benefit equal to two-thirds of the employee’s average weekly wage but not more than $800.00 per week nor less than $50.00 per week, except that when the weekly wage is below $50.00, the employer shall pay a weekly benefit equal to the average weekly wage. The weekly benefit under this Code section shall be payable for a maximum period of 400 weeks from the date of injury; provided, however, that in the event of a catastrophic injury as defined in subsection (g) of Code Section 34-9-200.1, the weekly benefit under this Code section shall be paid until such time as the employee undergoes a change in condition for the better as provided in paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of Code Section 34-9-104.

The notes below are printed with the section but are not enacted law (O.C.G.A. § 1-1-1(c)). They are shown apart from the text.

History

Ga. L. 1920, p. 167, § 30; Ga. L. 1922, p. 185, § 3; Ga. L. 1923, p. 92, § 3; Code 1933, § 114-404; Ga. L. 1937, p. 528; Ga. L. 1949, p. 1357, § 1; Ga. L. 1955, p. 210, § 1; Ga. L. 1963, p. 141, § 5; Ga. L. 1968, p. 3, § 1; Ga. L. 1973, p. 232, § 3; Ga. L. 1974, p. 1143, § 3; Ga. L. 1975, p. 190, § 4; Ga. L. 1978, p. 2220, § 3; Ga. L. 1981, p. 842, § 2.1; Ga. L. 1982, p. 2485, §§ 1, 7; Ga. L. 1985, p. 727, § 8; Ga. L. 1990, p. 1409, § 14; Ga. L. 1992, p. 1942, § 21; Ga. L. 1994, p. 887, § 14; Ga. L. 1996, p. 1291, § 11; Ga. L. 1997, p. 1367, § 8; Ga. L. 1999, p. 817, § 7; Ga. L. 2000, p. 1321, § 6; Ga. L. 2001, p. 748, § 6; Ga. L. 2003, p. 364, § 6; Ga. L. 2005, p. 1210, § 7/HB 327; Ga. L. 2007, p. 616, § 6/HB 424; Ga. L. 2013, p. 651, § 5/HB 154; Ga. L. 2015, p. 1079, § 3/HB 412; Ga. L. 2016, p. 287, § 3/HB 818; Ga. L. 2019, p. 798, § 4/SB 135; Ga. L. 2022, p. 350, § 1/HB 1409; Ga. L. 2023, p. 416, § 2/HB 480, effective July 1, 2023.

Amendments

The 2019 amendment, effective July 1, 2019, substituted “$675.00” for “$575.00” in the first sentence. The 2022 amendment, effective July 1, 2022, substituted “$725.00” for “$675.00” in the first sentence. The 2023 amendment, effective July 1, 2023, substituted “not more than $800.00 per week” for “not more than $725.00 per week” in the first sentence.

Editor's notes

Ga. L. 2023, p. 416, § 5/HB 480, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2023, and shall apply to injuries that occur on or after such date.”

Law reviews

For annual survey on worker’s compensation, see 71 Mercer L. Rev. 345 (2019).

Read the official page (the state's PDF, opened at the page this text was read from).

Current through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

Text read from t34-(v26)-pdf.pdf, Volume V26, 2017 edition, 2025 supplement, page 125; merge action: replaced; file SHA-256 fbb5a8d0f75f.