Senator Warnock joined Georgia’s Democratic congressional delegation in demanding answers from Georgia’s Department of Labor over a recent U.S. Department of Labor audit which found the state is unable to provide basic data on the processing and payments of Unemployment Insurance

Georgia was found to be the only state included in the audit which was unable to provide the Department of Labor’s Inspector General with data regarding both the volume and timeliness of payments of UI claims

An estimated 80,000 Georgians are still waiting for answers to their unemployment applications

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) joined Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Congressman Sanford Bishop Jr. (D-GA), Congressman David Scott (D-GA), Congressman Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr. (D-GA), Congresswoman Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-GA), Congresswoman Lucy McBath (D-GA), and Congresswoman Nikema Williams (D-GA) in a letter demanding answers from Georgia Department of Labor (DOL) Commissioner Mark Butler expressing concern over the findings of an audit performed by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General. The audit discovered that Georgia was unable to provide basic data on the processing and payments of Unemployment Insurance. Of the twelve states included in the audit of states’ implementation of three critical new UI programs from the CARES Act, the audit found that Georgia was the only state unable to provide data regarding both the volume and timeliness of payments of UI claims. This comes as an estimated 80,000 Georgians are still waiting for answers to their unemployment application.

“It is critical that the DOL have access to this data as it seeks to identify lessons learned from the past year and devise best practices for utilizing the assistance provided through the ARP to improve state unemployment insurance systems,” wrote the Members. “We therefore request that your office provide the relevant data to the Office of Inspector General as soon as possible or provide an explanation as to why the GDOL is unable to report relevant data.”

Read the full letter HERE.

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