What Are the Qualifications for Receiving Unemployment in Georgia?
- A major requirement to qualify for unemployment benefit payments is that the claimant must be unemployed through no fault of his own. The following situations would meet this requirement: being laid off, shutting down of employer's business, being fired for a reason other than misconduct or having quit for a valid work-related reason. The department will check with the claimant's most recent employer to verify the reason for unemployment.
- The claimant must also have a minimum amount of recent wages to qualify for UI. Such wages only count from past employers who paid UI tax on those wages. Wages must have been earned in at least two calendar quarters of the claim base period, which is the first four of the last five quarters. The wages must be at least $1,134 for each of the two quarters in the base period. Also, the total of all wages in the base period must be at least one and a half times the amount of wages in the highest quarter.
- A claimant must be able, available and actively looking for new employment. He has to be physically able to perform work. There can't be other present restrictions that would prevent accepting and performing offered employment. He must register with an employment service if requested to do so. A written record, documenting an active search for work has to be kept. There must be documented job search activity made each week.
- All claimants must provide documentation that they are U.S. citizens or have a valid work visa. UI claims are on a week-to-week basis, which can require the claimant to personally report to the department each week. Benefits are dated from the time the first weekly claim is filed, not the date of job loss. A written record of past wages will be supplied to the claimant, who can challenge the information it contains within 15 days of receiving it.