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Online Weekly Certification and Inquiry

To enter your weekly certification for unemployment insurance benefits, click here
To inquire about the status of your current or past certifications, click here

Form 1099G Information

Unemployment compensation is taxable income. This must be reported each year even if you have repaid some or all of the benefits received. To see your 1099G information, click here

Form 1099-G is mailed each year, before the end of January, to anyone who was paid unemployment benefits during the calendar year, January 1 to December 31. The above information is posted as soon as possible each January for the prior tax year. If you need any information for earlier years, contact your local Career Center.

Benefit Rights & Responsibilities pamphlet - DOL-414.PDF (210 KB)

Printable version of the Benefit Rights & Responsibilities pamphlet in Adobe Acrobat format. Requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader 3.0 software, available from Adobe Systems Incorporated.

Appeals pamphlet - DOL-424B.PDF (62 KB)

Printable version of the Appeals pamphlet in Adobe Acrobat format. Requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader 3.0 software, available from Adobe Systems Incorporated.

Printable Forms - .PDF

Download printable forms in Adobe Acrobat format.

General Information for Claimants

Eligibility for Benefits

The Appeals Process

Special Situations That Apply to Some People

GENERAL INFORMATION FOR CLAIMANTS

How do I qualify for unemployment insurance benefits?

There are several qualification requirements. The most important ones are:

1. You must meet certain earnings requirements. That means that you must have earned enough wages in your claim base period to monetarily establish a claim.
   
   
2. You must be unemployed through no fault of your own.
   
   
3. You must be able to work, available for work and searching for work.       

How long do I have to have worked to establish a claim in Georgia?

Your claim is based on insured wages earned in the base period. You have to have been paid wages in at least two quarters of the base period.

What is the base period?

The base period is the period we look at to determine if you have been paid enough wages to be eligible. For Georgia, the base period is the first four out of the last five completed calendar quarters before the starting date of your claim.

What is the minimum and maximum weekly benefit paid in Georgia?

The minimum is $39 per week and the maximum is $274 per week.

What is the maximum length of time I can draw benefits?

Do I have to have earned all my wages in Georgia to file a claim?

What if I disagree with the amount of money the department shows I earned during the base period?

There could be many reasons why the information about the wages you earned during your base period could be incorrect. If you believe the wages to be incorrect or if wages are missing you may request a wage investigation of your earnings during the base period. If, after the wage investigation results are provided to you, you still disagree with the monetary determination, you may file an appeal within 15 days of the determination's mailing date.

To file a wage investigation, contact your career center.

What are the types of claims?

Regular Georgia Claim - During the base period you worked and earned wages that were paid by Georgia employers.

NOTE: For other types of claims, see items marked with * under SPECIAL PROGRAMS

Where do I file a claim?

When is my claim effective?

Your claim is effective the date you first file for benefits.

What do I need to bring with me when I file a claim?

1.Bring your Social Security number. We cannot file your claim without it.

2.If you were given a separation notice or letter by your former employer, bring that also.

3.You need the names and addresses of your employers for the last 18 months and the dates you worked at each place.

4.Bring proof of your immigration status if you are not a citizen of the United States.

5. You may have your checks deposited directly to your checking or savings account. If you wish to have this done, bring a check with your your account number and your bank's name and routing number.

NOTE: For information needed if your last employer was the Federal Government or the military, see Special Situations

When do I get my first check?

The department will send you a written decision (called a determination) telling you whether benefits are allowed or not.  This determination is usually issued about 14 to 21 days after the day you file. If benefits are allowed on your claim, your check will usually be mailed on the same day as the written determination. If you requested direct deposit of your check to your bank account, the first check will be deposited the same day the determination allowing benefits is mailed. The funds will be available the second business day after deposit. The OLIVoR system will verify the date your check was either mailed or deposited directly to your bank account.

If you received a separation notice from your employer, bring it with you when you file your claim. That may speed up the determination process.

What happens if I withhold information or do not tell the truth when giving information on my claim?

If you knowingly make a false statement or representation or knowingly fail to disclose a material fact in order to obtain or to increase unemployment benefits, you may be prosecuted for a misdemeanor or a felony, depending upon the amount of benefits involved. Your ability to draw future benefits may also be adversely affected. You may also have to pay back all or a portion of the benefits you have collected.

How do I claim benefits each week?

Once you file your claim, you will be required to certify as to your eligibility for each week you claim benefits. Most claimants report by telephone using the telephone response system OLIVoR.

Can I work while I am drawing benefits?

Yes, but you must report any earnings you have in a week you are claiming benefits. Any amount over $30 you earn during a week you work and claim benefits will be deducted from your weekly benefit amount. You must report all earnings for the week the work was actually performed, not necessarily the week you received payment.

Are unemployment insurance benefits taxable?

Yes. Any unemployment insurance benefits you receive are fully taxable income if you are required to file a tax return. At the time you file your claim, you may elect to have the Department withhold state and/or federal tax on the benefits you receive. You may change this withholding election one time during the benefit year.

The department will send you a 1099-G form at the end of the calendar year showing how much in benefits you received during the previous year. It also shows the amount of taxes, if any, that were withheld. You should use this form when you file your income taxes to report benefits received and any taxes withheld by the department. Questions about filing should be directed to the IRS, to the state Department of Revenue or to a tax consultant.

Will the Georgia Department of Labor share information about my claim with other people or agencies?

As a rule, only you, your last employer, or a duly authorized representative of you or your last employer can obtain information concerning your claim for benefits. A duly authorized representative must prepare a written request for information about your claim. A copy of this request will be kept in the local career center.

Information about your claim may be given to any officer or employee (including law enforcement officers) of any agency of the federal government or of a state or territorial government, lawfully charged with the administration of the law. Requests for the release of such information must be in writing.

Because unemployment insurance benefits are taxable, the department does provide information about the amount of benefits you received to the Georgia Department of Revenue and to the Internal Revenue Service.

ELIGIBILITY FOR BENEFITS

Who can draw benefits?

If you are unemployed or employed less than full-time, you MAY be eligible to draw unemployment insurance benefits.

How can I be eligible for benefits when I become unemployed?

You must qualify based on your earnings in the base period (monetary eligibility) and on the reason for separation (non-monetary eligibility).

What if I have a job, but some weeks my employer does not have a full week's work for me?

Your employer can file "low earning" reports when there is less than full-time work for you when you normally work full-time.

How do I qualify under monetary requirements?

First you must have wages in your base period from employers who are liable for unemployment insurance taxes. These are called insured wages.

You must have insured wages in at least 2 of the 4 quarters of the base period.

and

You must have been paid wages that total at least $1,296 in the two highest quarters of the base period.

and

Your total base period wages must be at least 1 1/2 times the earnings in the high quarter.

What happens if my earnings are not at least 1 1/2 times the earnings in the high quarter?

When the only reason that a person fails to qualify is the 1 1/2 times requirement, an alternate calculation may be used to determine monetary eligibility. The Department makes this calculation for you if it is needed.

How do I find out how much I may be able to draw on my claim?

After filing your claim, you will receive a Wage Transcript and Monetary Determination. This form shows:

- all employers that our records show you worked for in Georgia during your base period;

- the wages you were paid during each quarter;

- your weekly benefit amount;

- the duration of your claim (the number of weeks payable); and

- if you are not eligible monetarily, the reason(s) why

How is the total amount of my claim determined?

Your weekly benefit amount (up to the current weekly maximum amount) is computed by dividing the two highest quarter wages paid to you in your base period by 48. Fractions of a dollar are disregarded. The maximum amount of benefits you can potentially draw is 26 times the weekly benefit amount, or 1/4 of the base period wages, whichever is less.

  What do I have to do to qualify for benefits if I am able to establish a monetary claim?

Just earning enough money to set up a claim is not enough to get unemployment benefits. You must meet other eligibility conditions too. These are called "non-monetary requirements."

What are the non-monetary requirements?

You must have a decision made on the reason for separation from your last work, if it was not a separation because of lack of work only. A GDL employee will conduct a telephone interview with you and your former employer to get information about the reason for your separation or any other issues which might affect your claim. A written decision will be mailed to you (and to your employer if the issue is separation). Other non-monetary requirements include (but are not limited to) being able to work, available for work and actively searching for work.

Can I draw benefits if I quit my job?

If you quit, you may be eligible to draw benefits if you can show that you quit for good work-connected reason(s). (Examples of good work-connected reasons are: material change in working conditions, material change in working agreement, non payment for your work and similar reasons.) You will not be able to draw benefits if your reason for quitting was personal, even though the personal reason was a good or compelling reason.

NOTE: The only way to know for sure whether you are eligible if you quit is to file a claim.

Can I draw benefits if I was fired?

If you were fired from your job, you will not be able to draw benefits if your former employer can show that you were fired for failure to follow rules, orders or instructions of your employer or you were fired for misconduct on the job.

NOTE: The only way to know for sure whether you are eligible if you are fired is to file a claim.

Are there other requirements if I draw benefits?

Yes, if you are awarded benefits based on your reason for separation from your last work, you must meet other weekly requirements.

You must be able to do some kind of work that is available in your area and that you are qualified to do.

You must be available for work without placing any undue restrictions on your availability, such as for lack of child care or for lack of transportation or other restrictions.

You must be actively looking for work each week and you must be looking for full-time employment.

You must not refuse any offer of suitable work or referral to suitable work without good cause.

You must be registered with the employment service office and you must respond to any call-in notices sent to you.

If you work and earn any money while you are drawing benefits, you must report all earnings the week in which you earned the money, even if you were not paid in that week.

What if I am disqualified from drawing benefits. Will I ever be able to draw?

There are two types of disqualification. How you requalify depends upon the type of penalty.

One is a total disqualification which may be put on your claim because of the reason for your separation from your former employer. This type of disqualification prohibits you from drawing benefits until you return to work and earn at least 10 times your established weekly benefit amount and you subsequently become unemployed through no fault of your own. This requirement is in effect for the period of a claim, which is one year from the date it was originally filed.

This total disqualification described above also applies if you refuse referral to suitable work or if you refuse suitable work without good cause.

The second type of disqualification is based on week-to-week eligibility. This disqualification may be imposed if you are not able to work, if you are not available to look for or to accept work or if you do not actively look for work during a week. It also may apply if you fail to respond to notices to come into a GDL office or to participate in special services as required. Even though you may have been allowed benefits on the basis of your separation, you may become ineligible at any time during the claim if you are not meeting all eligibility requirements. But at such time as you demonstrate that you are meeting all requirements of the law, you may be able to draw benefits again.

 I got two determinations on my claim. One says I can draw benefits and the other says I cannot.

Which one is correct?

The department will release a determination on each separate issue on your claim. As a result you may sometimes receive more than one determination.

A decision imposing any kind of disqualification takes precedence over a decision allowing benefits. Here are some examples:

Example 1: If you are allowed benefits based on the reason for separation from your job, but you have not been able to look for work because you do not have child care, you would get two decisions. One would allow benefits on the reason for separation and the second would hold you ineligible due to lack of child care until you begin meeting the requirements of the law. You could draw benefits if you obtain child care and again become available for work without undue restrictions.

Example 2: If you get a decision disqualifying you based on the reason for separation from your job and you get a second decision saying you are eligible based on some other issue, the disqualifying decision takes precedence over the one saying you are eligible. Remember, the reason for separation decision is a total disqualification until you return to work and earn at least 10 times your weekly benefit amount and then become unemployed through no fault of your own. There is no other way to remove this disqualification.

THE APPEALS PROCESS

What if I disagree with the decision made on my claim?

You have the right to file an appeal of any decision made by the Department on your claim. The appeal rights expire 15 days after the date the decision is released. If the decision is on your separation from work, your employer also has the right to appeal.

What happens in an appeal?

A hearing officer conducts a telephone (or sometimes an in-person) hearing with you and your employer. The hearing is usually conducted with both parties on the telephone at the same time. In this hearing the participants give sworn statements about the issue(s) which were on the notice of hearing. Documents which relate to the case (such as letters, time records, work rules or other materials) may be submitted into evidence for the hearing officer to consider in making a decision.

NOTE: An appeal to a hearing officer is your last opportunity to give facts to support your side of the case. If you filed the appeal, you must participate for the hearing to take place. If you cannot be reached for the telephone hearing (or appear at the designated place) the appeal will be dismissed.

How long does it take to get a hearing?

Once an appeal is filed, it usually takes from 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 weeks for the hearing to take place. The department is required to send written notice of the hearing time, date and all issues to be discussed. This notice must be mailed at least 10 days before the hearing takes place.

How am I notified of the decision of the hearing officer?

The hearing officer reviews all of the testimony and evidence from the hearing and then writes a decision. The decision contains a statement of the case being appealed, a review of the facts, the reason(s) for the decision and the decision statement. The written decision is mailed to all interested parties to the appeal.

What if I disagree with the decision of the hearing officer ?

You may appeal to the Board of Review.

What is the Board of Review?

The Board is a 3-member panel appointed by the Governor. The Board reviews the entire record of the hearing held by the administrative hearing officer and all other relevant materials. They do not hold a hearing with the parties present. They do not take new evidence or testimony. They review the case and either affirm, modify or reverse the decision of the hearing officer. Sometimes they may send the case back (remand) to the hearing officer to re-hear or to take additional testimony. The Board's written decision is mailed to all interested parties. The decision gives appeal rights for appealing the Board's decision.

 Can I appeal the Board of Review's decision?

The Board's decision must be appealed to the Superior Court of the county in which the work was performed. (This is the 'most recent employment') This also is a review-type appeal. A petition for review must be filed with the court. This usually requires the assistance of an attorney. The department does not file these appeals. Payment for the attorney charges is the responsibility of the person filing the appeal. NOTE: If the work on which the claim was based was performed out of state, the appeal of the decision of the Board of Review must be filed in Fulton County Superior Court.

SPECIAL SITUATIONS THAT APPLY TO SOME PEOPLE

Military Service *

You can use military wages paid in the base period to establish a claim IF you were separated from the branch of service under at least honorable conditions and IF you completed your first full term of service. If you did not complete your first full term of service, to be eligible for benefits, the reason for early separation must be a reason specified by Congress as an exception to the requirement. You may be eligible if you were in the Reserve or National Guard, and you served at least 90 days continuous service and received a Form DD214 when separated.

Since we have no record of your military wages on file in the department, you MUST bring your DD214, Member 4 form when you file your claim. Failure to bring this document will result in a delay of your claim. We cannot use the Member 1 version.

If the information on the DD214 Member 4 form prevents us from using your military wages to establish a claim, you may appeal to your branch of service. You must also file an appeal to the Georgia Department of Labor in order to be paid if the military changes the information and allows the use of your wages. You must also certify each week while the appeal to the military is pending in order to be paid if your wages can later be used.

If you received severance pay or disability severance pay when you were separated from the military, you will be disqualified from drawing unemployment insurance benefits for the period covered by severance pay.

Most people who worked for the federal government can use their federal wages to establish a claim. However, we do not have a record of those wages and therefore must estimate your base period earnings until we can receive verification from the federal agency. If you file a claim, bring the Standard Form 50, which has proof of your employment with the agency and the pay grade level. If you do not have this form, you should bring a W-2 form or pay stubs in order for us to make an estimate of your wages during the base period. We allow the federal agency 30 days to verify your wages. If we are able to estimate your wages and your federal employer does not verify within the 30 days, we may be able to begin paying you based on the estimate, if you are otherwise eligible. Your claim will also be processed more accurately if you also bring the Standard Form 8. This has the correct mailing address for GDL to use to request employment and wage verification.

Some federal employment cannot be used to establish a claim. The federal agency tells us whether the work you did was "federal civilian employment" for claims purposes. You may request that the federal agency reconsider if you disagree with its findings.

Interstate Claim *

If your wages were earned in another state during the base period and you now live in Georgia, you may file an interstate claim. The GDL acts as the agent for the state where you can establish a claim. That state is the paying state and its rules and regulations determine whether you can establish a claim, how much the claim is potentially worth and all other requirements. You, however, must register for work at a GDL office.

Combined Wage Claims *

If you worked in more than one state during the base period, you have the option of using all qualifying wages to establish your claim in Georgia. Your wage credits would be transferred to Georgia and Georgia would be the "paying state". If you do not have enough wages to establish a claim under Georgia, you may be able to file an Interstate Claim against one of the other states where you worked.

If you lost your job because of foreign trade, you may be eligible for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) which may include retraining, job search and relocation allowances and weekly Trade Readjustment Allowance (TRA) benefits. These are payable ONLY after you have drawn all your regular unemployment insurance benefits and not been able to find a job.

If you think you qualify, ask to talk to someone in the career center about the program when you first file your claim.

If the President declares a disaster in your area and you lost your job because of the disaster, you may be eligible for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA). If you think you qualify, ask to talk to someone in the career center about the program when you first file your claim.

Retirement Pensions

If you are receiving a retirement pension from a base period employer, the pension may be deductible from your weekly benefit amount if your employer contributed 50% or more toward the pension fund. If the pension payment is determined to be deductible, we will reduce your weekly benefit amount dollar for dollar by the weekly amount of the pension that is attributable to the employer. NOTE: If your pension is from an employer you worked for before the base period, it is not deductible.

Social Security payments are NOT deductible from unemployment insurance benefits.

Separation Pay /Wages in Lieu of Notice/Severance Pay

If your employer paid you wages in lieu of notice or separation pay, you are usually not eligible for unemployment insurance benefits during the period covered by the separation pay.

NOTE: The only way to know for sure whether separation pay is disqualifying is to file a claim.

If you are receiving Temporary Total or Temporary Partial Worker's Compensation payments, you are not eligible for unemployment insurance in Georgia.

NOTE: The only way to know for sure whether you are eligible is to file a claim.

To be eligible for benefits you must have earned wages as a legal resident of the United States and you must be a legal resident at the time you file your claim. We verify your status with INS.

Overpayments

If the department pays you benefits before learning you were not eligible, you must pay the benefits back, even if the overpayment was not your fault.

If you are overpaid benefits the department will mail you a determination telling you why you were overpaid, what weeks were overpaid and the total amount of the overpayment. You must repay the money immediately. If you cannot repay it all at once, we will work out a payment schedule for you. If the money is not repaid, it could affect future claims for unemployment insurance. In cases of overpayments made because of fraudulent statements you made, the department can press criminal charges.

School Employees

If your base period wages were earned with a school or an educational institution and you apply for benefits during a holiday break or between terms, you will not be eligible for benefits IF you have reasonable assurance of returning to work when school resumes. The reasonable assurance does not have to be in writing. It can be an understanding between you and your employer or the expectation that you will return to the same or an equivalent job. NOTE: If you are a non-professional employee (such as a cafeteria worker or custodian) and you do not return to work as expected when school resumes you may be paid for back weeks claimed if you have reported on your claim as instructed.

Professional Athletes

If you earned 90% or more of your base period as a professional athlete and you file a claim for unemployment insurance benefits between regular seasons of your sport, you may not be eligible to draw if you have reasonable assurance of returning to your sport in the next season.

Labor Disputes

You may not draw unemployment insurance benefits during any week a labor dispute resulting in a work stoppage occurs if you or your class of workers participate in, finance or are directly interested in, the dispute. This does not include lockout situations which occur following the expiration of the most recent working agreement.

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