Dramatic actions taken to slow the spread of the coronavirus triggered a flood of job cuts, but newly laid-off workers Wednesday found the state's Labor Department offices closed and the web page to file for jobless benefits down.
The department closed Career Centers around the state to protect workers from becoming infected, and it suspended in-person filing for unemployment, said spokeswoman Kersha Cartwright.
“But 93% of the claims are filed online anyway,” she said.
Unfortunately, the new filings were apparently too much for the department's web site. The page for filing for unemployment was inaccessible for much of the day. It was operating by late afternoon, albeit slowly.
As government techies were struggling to fix it, the pool of jobless workers continued to swell – especially in the hospitality sector. Some restaurants and bars were trying to stay open, often offering only food for takeout, while others shut down.
Bottles & Bones restaurant in Suwanee had planned to stay open three days a week even after a miserable weekend, but owner Rob Taranto said Wednesday he will close, laying off most of his 45-person staff.
On Wednesday, the state government estimated that the number of people filing claims for unemployment benefits had doubled since last week. Experts say the number will likely soar.
Some economists – including Kevin Hassett, a former Bush administration adviser – warned that the job losses for March could be the worst on record for one month.
Georgia's worst month during the Great Recession came in January 2009 when 153,108 workers filed for unemployment. The unemployment rate was in double-digits for more than a year, cresting at 10.6%.
Workers who lose their jobs should file for unemployment benefits.
But companies are obligated to file for workers if they have not laid them off, but are not giving them hours to work and hope to start back in weeks or months.
If an employer doesn’t accurately file claims for workers or fails to file them, the company could face penalties or fines, said Kathy Harrington-Sullivan, an Atlanta attorney who represents workers in wage disputes.
Workers can use past pay stubs to prove how many hours they typically worked, she said.
Unemployment requests are processed within a couple of days, Cartwright said.
Jobless benefits in Georgia average 43% of the worker's pay, just slightly below the national average, said Michele Evermore, policy analyst for the National Employment Law Project.
But she sharply criticized the duration of benefits – just 14 weeks. The General Assembly cut that from 26 weeks several years ago. Even in a strong economy, 14 weeks is not enough time and will be inadequate during this crisis, she said.
As jobless claims rise, they will likely trigger a federal law that extends the duration, but workers will still get benefits for just 21 weeks.
Many will be left without income when the economy may still be in freefall, Evermore said.
“The benefit duration being so low is the biggest problem right now. This is going to really hurt your ability to get through the recession.”
Andy Peters contributed to this story
Georgia jobless benefits
Maximum: $365 per week
Average share of worker’s pre-layoff pay: 43%
Share of unemployed Georgians receiving benefits: 16.9%
Who files after a layoff: The employee
Who files if employer doesn’t lay off but gives worker no hours: The employer
Average tax cost to employer per covered worker: $170 a year
Sources: Georgia Department of Labor, National Employment Law Project
Georgia jobless claims
Most filings, month: 153,108 (January 2009)
Most recent month: 27,621 (February 2020)
Sources: St. Louis Federal Reserve, U.S. Employment and Training Administration
Coverage of the unemployed in Georgia
The vast majority of unemployed people in Georgia do not receive jobless benefits. Some – often students or stay-at-home parents – never applied. Some have exhausted their benefits. Others were self-employed or gig workers who were never on a payroll.
The most recent data show Georgia ranking 42nd in the U.S., among the states with the lowest share of jobless people receiving benefits.
Source: National Employment Law Project
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