Four Georgia residents are suing the state Department of Labor, saying delays in processing, paying and hearing appeals on unemployment claims violate state and federal law.
The suit was filed last week in Fulton County Superior Court and announced Tuesday by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The plaintiffs are asking a judge to certify the suit as a class action on behalf of other people who have suffered delays.
Among other things, the plaintiffs demand that the judge order the department to follow the law and that the state pay people money damages.
The suit outlines three different areas where it says the state agency has fallen down – in determining whether someone is entitled to unemployment benefits, in paying benefits quickly after awarding them and in granting timely appeals when benefits are denied.
State lawmakers sought to try to strip Mark Butler, the elected Republican labor commissioner, of some of his power during this year’s regular session of the General Assembly, but Gov. Brian Kemp vetoed the bill. Lawmakers say they were deluged with hundreds, if not thousands, of complaints by constituents who said they were unable to communicate with the department or unable to resolve disputes.