Georgians receiving unemployment benefits will once again be required to look for work and will be able to earn less before unemployment payments drop beginning June 27.
Labor Commissioner Mark Butler announced the changes Thursday, also saying employers with many laid-off workers collecting benefits will face higher unemployment insurance taxes after that date.
It’s a further tightening of Georgia’s unemployment assistance as Butler and other elected Republican state leaders say the state needs to do more to push people into the workforce.
Georgia announced last month that, beginning June 27, it would cut off federal programs that provide a $300-a-week boost to people on the jobless rolls, as well as programs that pay federal money to people not usually eligible for state unemployment or who have been on jobless aid for longer than the state provides. Those federal programs will last through September in some states. Tennessee is ending its extra federal supplemental pay on July 3.
Butler had earlier signaled he would reinstate work-search requirements, a move underway in more than three-quarters of states. Employers will also be asked to report when workers refuse to return to work or refuse a job offer, which could cause workers to lose benefits going forward. To keep drawing benefits after June 26, Georgia residents must register with the EmployGeorgia.com website.