---
title: O.C.G.A. § 45-19-44. Unlawful practices punishable by civil fine.
collection: code
id: 45-19-44
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 45-19-44 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/45-19-44
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/45-19-44.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/45-19-44/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t45-(v33)-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=c5ce751b_0#page=146
date: 2025
status: active
corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68
license: CC0-1.0
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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version: the only printed version
in_force: true
current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly
heading_path: PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES / LABOR PRACTICES / FAIR EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES
---

# O.C.G.A. § 45-19-44. Unlawful practices punishable by civil fine.

(a) It shall be an unlawful practice for a person willfully to:

(1) Make public with respect to a particular employer or person without the employer’s or person’s consent information obtained by the administrator or the administrator’s representatives or employees pursuant to their authority under Code Section 45-19-41, except as shall reasonably be necessary to carry out the provisions of this article;

(2) Retaliate or discriminate in any manner against a person because the person has opposed a practice declared unlawful by this article or because the person has made a charge, filed a complaint, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in any investigation, proceeding, or hearing concerning an unlawful practice under this article;

(3) Aid, abet, incite, compel, or coerce a person to engage in any of the acts or practices declared unlawful by this article;

(4) Obstruct or prevent a person from complying with this article or with any order issued under this article;

(5) Resist, prevent, impede, or interfere with the administrator, or any of the administrator’s representatives or employees, or with a hearing officer in the lawful performance of a duty under this article. Such unlawful practice may include, but shall not be limited to, willfully neglecting or failing to comply or to fully comply with a subpoena or other lawful order to:

(A) Attend and testify at any hearing or deposition;

(B) Answer any lawful inquiry; or

(C) Produce records, documents, or other requested evidence;

provided, however, that it shall not be a violation of this article for anyone to challenge or resist any action by the administrator, or any of the administrator’s representatives or employees, or by a hearing officer when there is a good faith belief that the administrator is, the administrator’s representatives or employees are, or the hearing officer is acting unlawfully or acting in excess of statutory authority; or

(6) Initiate frivolous and unwarranted charges of discrimination against a public employer.

(b) A violation of this Code section shall not be deemed a crime; but any person who willfully violates this Code section may be punished by a civil fine not to exceed $1,000.00.

## History

Ga. L. 1978, p. 859, § 24; Ga. L. 1983, p. 1097, § 1; Ga. L. 1984, p. 22, § 45; Ga. L. 1992, p. 6, § 45; Ga. L. 2024, p. 103, § 10/HB 563, effective July 1, 2024; Ga. L. 2025, p. 1029, § 45(3)/SB 153, effective July 1, 2025.

## Amendments

The 2024 amendment, effective July 1, 2024, inserted “representatives or” in paragraph (a)(1); and rewrote paragraph (a)(5), which read: “Resist, prevent, impede, or interfere with the administrator or any of his representatives, employees, or with a special master in the lawful performance of duty under this article; provided, however, that it shall not be a violation of this article for anyone to challenge or resist any action by the administrator or any of his employees or by a special master when there is a good faith belief that the administrator is, or his employees are, or the special master is acting unlawfully or acting in excess of statutory authority; or”.

The 2025 amendment, effective July 1, 2025, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, revised punctuation at the end of paragraph (a)(5).