The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) is working to complete the requirements for the extension of benefits for the programs included in the Continued Assistance for Unemployed Workers Act of 2020 included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.

In a press release the Georgia Department of Labor announced that they expect no lapse in claimed unemployment benefits for those with funds still available in their claim. The $300 Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation will also be issued to eligible claimants.

The GDOL has started to receive and is reviewing the federal guidelines from the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) before distributing payments for claimants who have exhausted benefits on or before December 26.

The GDOL encourages claimants to continue to request weekly payments.  All eligible payments will be issued when a decision on eligibility is released, including any additional weeks of benefits a claimant could potentially be eligible for with the implementation of the new program extensions.

The GDOL has paid over $16.7 billion in state and federal benefits since the beginning of the pandemic in March of this year.

Since week ending March 21, 2020, 4,200,833 regular UI initial claims have been processed, more than the last nine years combined (4.0 million). Last week, regular UI initial claims totaled 18,960, down 7,713 over the week. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 346,566 PUA claims have been processed.

To view the full press release please visit the Georgia DOL website.