The American Institute for Full Employment (AIFE) has given a Full Employment Award for 2020 to the Georgia Department of Labor for implementing effective reemployment policy and process initiatives during the COVID‐19 pandemic.
Amid an unprecedented economic shutdown, a specialized state of emergency enabled a robust COVID-19 response by the Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL), which addressed massive layoffs, optimized online services and more quickly connected claimants to employment. GDOL’s rapid action helped mitigate the economic impacts on workers and employers of the most devastating economic crisis since the Great Depression.
The Full Employment Award is given each year to one or more states or individuals demonstrating a commitment to excellence in helping job seekers become reemployed.
“We are honored to have received this prestigious award, particularly during such a challenging year,” said Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler. “Thinking outside the box, we were able to come up with never tried before solutions to get people back to work and fill job openings.”
For the year, Georgia achieved a 36% increase in the percentage of UI claimants who successfully completed Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) activities. Additionally, Georgia was the only state in the nation to experience less than a 1% decline in personal income through the third quarter of 2020.
The GDOL has processed over 4.3 million unemployment insurance (UI) claims since last March, while trying to adjust its programs to support pandemic employment requirements. The agency was able to continue its reemployment efforts using innovative virtual processes and implement a broader set of initiatives and policies to minimize the economic impact of the pandemic.
Georgia’s 2020 initiatives highlighted by the AIFE included:
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Maintaining, without interruption, the state RESEA program by fully and seamlessly shifting the process to a virtual environment.
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GDOL was one of the first states in the nation to provide RESEA services completely through a virtual platform to serve Georgians during the pandemic.
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Maximizing the impact of online employee recruitment services and rapid response—with virtual job fairs and job preparation workshops, scheduled RESEA appointments, and a library of technical assistance instructional videos.
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Increasing the earnings exemption from $50 to $300, allowing UI claimants to make up to $300 per week without reducing their weekly UI benefit amount. This encourages Georgians to continue working and makes it easier for employers to hire part‐time workers.
“At a time when good news seems to be in short supply, it’s encouraging to see leading states like Georgia accomplish so much in the face of such difficult circumstances—aiding both struggling individuals and the broader economy,” says AIFE President John Courtney.
The Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations joins the Georgia Department of Labor as a recipient of the 2020 Full Employment award.
To learn more about Georgia’s and Missouri’s award‐winning initiatives, as well as previous award recipients, visit the American Institute for Full Employment at fullemployment.org.
About the American Institute for Full Employment:
The American Institute for Full Employment is a nonprofit consulting and research group, founded in 1994 to promote best practices in solving unemployment in America. Its mission is Full Employment in America. The Institute’s team consists of former state agency executives, researchers and reemployment experts. Its team has designed best practices in workforce, unemployment and welfare programs for decades, working on policy design and implementation in more than 25 states.