TITLE 34 LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

Section 8. Employment Security, 34-8-1 through 34-8-280.

ARTICLE 5 CONTRIBUTIONS AND PAYMENTS IN LIEU OF CONTRIBUTIONS

34-8-157. Regular benefits paid to be charged against experience rating account.

1. Regular benefits paid with respect to all benefit years that begin on or after January 1, 1992, but prior to July 1, 2015, shall be charged against the experience rating account or reimbursement account of employers in the following manner:
   1. Benefits paid shall be charged to the account of the most recent employer, as that term is defined in Code Section 34-8-43, including benefits paid based upon insured wages which were earned to requalify following a period of disqualification as provided in Code Section 34-8-194;
   2. 1. Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection, benefits charged to the account of an employer shall not exceed the amount of wages paid by such employer during the period beginning with the base period of the individual's claim and continuing through the individual's benefit year.
      2. Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection, benefits shall not be charged to the account of an employer when an individual's overpayment is waived pursuant to Code Section 34-8-254.
      3. Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection, for the purposes of calculating an employer's contribution rate, an account of an employer shall not be charged for benefits paid to an individual for unemployment that is directly caused by a presidentially declared natural disaster;
   3. 1. An employer shall respond in a timely and adequate manner to a notice of a claim filing or a written request by the department for information relating to a claim for benefits as specified in the rules or regulations prescribed by the Commissioner.
      2. Any violation of subparagraph (A) of this paragraph by an employer or an officer or agent of an employer absent good cause may result in the employer's account being charged for overpayment of benefits paid due to such violation even if the determination is later reversed; provided, however, that upon the finding of three violations of subparagraph (A) of this paragraph within a calendar year resulting in an overpayment of benefits, an employer's account shall be charged for any additional overpayment and shall not be relieved of such charges unless good cause is shown; and
   4. Benefits paid to individuals shall be charged against the Unemployment Trust Fund when benefits are paid but not charged against an employer's experience rating account as provided in this Code section.
2. 1. Regular benefits paid with respect to all benefit years that begin on or after July 1, 2015, shall be charged against the experience rating account or reimbursement account of the most recent employer as defined in subsection (a) of Code Section 34-8-43, provided that:
      1. The most recent employer is a liable employer, as provided in Code Section 34-8-42; and
      2. 1. The most recent employer separated the individual from work under nondisqualifying conditions, or files the claim for the individual by submitting such reports as authorized by the Commissioner; or
         2. The individual separated from the most recent employer under nondisqualifying conditions.
   2. Regular benefits to be charged against the experience rating account or reimbursement account of the most recent employer pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be charged in the following manner:
      1. Benefits paid shall be charged to the account of the most recent employer as defined in Code Section 34-8-43, including those benefits paid based upon insured wages which were earned to requalify following a period of disqualification as provided in Code Section 34-8-194;
      2. Except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (E) of this paragraph, benefits charged to the account of an employer shall not exceed the amount of wages paid by such employer during the period beginning with the base period of the individual's claim and continuing though the individual's benefit year;
      3. Except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (E) of this paragraph, benefits shall not be charged to the account of an employer when an individual's overpayment is waived pursuant to Code Section 34-8-254;
      4. Except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (E) of this paragraph, for the purposes of calculating an employer's contribution rate, an account of an employer shall not be charged for benefits paid to an individual for unemployment that is directly caused by a presidentially declared natural disaster;
      5. 1. An employer shall respond in a timely and adequate manner to a notice of a claim filing or a written request by the department for information relating to a claim for benefits as specified in the rules or regulations prescribed by the Commissioner.
         2. Any violation of division (i) of this subparagraph by an employer or an officer or agent of an employer absent good cause may result in the employer's account being charged for overpayment of benefits paid due to such violation even if the determination is later reversed; provided, however, that upon the finding of three violations of division (i) of this subparagraph within a calendar year resulting in an overpayment of benefits, an employer's account shall be charged for any additional overpayment and shall not be relieved of such charges unless good cause is shown; and
      6. Benefits paid to individuals shall be charged against the Unemployment Trust Fund when benefits are paid but not charged against an employer's experience rating account as provided in this Code section or when the employer is not a liable employer as provided in Code Section 34-8-42.
3. 1. Payments of extended benefits as provided in Code Section 34-8-197 shall be charged to an employer's experience rating account in the same proportion as regular benefits are charged, except an employer shall be charged for only 50 percent of its portion of the extended benefits paid for all weeks after the first week of extended benefits; provided, however, that benefits paid that are attributable to service in the employ of any governmental entity as described in subsection (h) of Code Section 34-8-35 shall be financed in their entirety by such governmental entity which is charged as provided in this Code section.
   2. As provided by 26 U.S.C. Section 3304, only 50 percent of extended benefits paid shall be charged to the individual's employers as described in paragraph (1) of this subsection. However, if the federal government does not reimburse the 50 percent for the first week of extended benefits paid, employers shall be charged 100 percent of such first week of extended benefits paid. When employers have been determined to be relieved from charges, such payments shall be charged against the Unemployment Trust Fund in the appropriate amount.
4. The Commissioner shall by regulation provide for the notification of each employer of charges made against its account at intervals not less frequent than semiannually. The charges in such notification shall be binding upon each employer for all purposes unless the employer files a request for review and redetermination in writing. Such request must set forth the charges to which the employer objects and the basis of the objection. The request must be made within 15 days of the prescribed notification. Upon such request being filed, the employer shall be granted an opportunity for a fair hearing. However, no employer shall have standing in any proceeding to contest the chargeability to its account of any benefit paid in accordance with a determination, redetermination, or decision pursuant to Articles 7 and 8 of this chapter, except upon the ground that the services upon which such benefits were found to be chargeable did not constitute services performed in employment for the employer and only in the event that the employer was not a party to such determination, redetermination, or decision, or to any other proceedings under this chapter in which the character of such services was determined. The employer shall be promptly notified of the Commissioner's redetermination. The redetermination shall become final unless a petition for judicial review is filed within 15 days after notice of redetermination. Such notice shall be mailed or otherwise delivered to the employer's last known address. The petition for judicial review shall be filed in the Superior Court of Fulton County or in the superior court of the county of residence of the petitioner. In any proceeding under this Code section, the findings of the Commissioner as to the facts, if supported by evidence and in the absence of fraud, shall be conclusive, and the jurisdiction of the court shall be confined to questions of law. No additional evidence shall be received by the court, but the court may order additional evidence to be taken before the Commissioner. The Commissioner may, after hearing such additional evidence, modify the determination and file such modified determination, together with a transcript of the additional record, with the court. Such proceedings shall be heard in a summary manner and shall be given precedence over all other civil cases except cases arising under Articles 7 and 8 of this chapter and Chapter 9 of this title. An appeal may be taken from the decision of the Superior Court of Fulton County or the superior court of the county of residence of the petitioner to the Court of Appeals of Georgia in the same manner as is provided in civil cases.

(Code 1981, §34-8-157, enacted by Ga. L. 1991, p. 139, § 1; Ga. L. 1992, p. 6, § 34; Ga. L. 1994, p. 640, § 3; Ga. L. 1995, p. 373, § 3; Ga. L. 2008, p. 324, § 34/SB 455; Ga. L. 2014, p. 730, § 2/HB 714; Ga. L. 2015, p. 830, § 2/HB 117.)

The 2015 amendment, effective May 6, 2015, rewrote subsections (a) and (b) and, in paragraph (c)(1), inserted "that" preceding "benefits".