Georgia Vacation Notice

December 30th, 2005 Posted by Jane

The Georgia Vacation Notice protects an employer from false claims of unemployment, and also lets them take absenteeism and excessive time off into account when determining unemployment benefits.

I read that under Georgia law, unemployment insurance is not payable when an employee is on:

  • leave of absence at their own request
  • paid vacation
  • unpaid vacation, up to two weeks in a calendar year if provided by employment contract, or
  • by established employer custom, practice or policy

Unemployment insurance provides limited replacement wages to workers who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own.

Before the vacation notice was put into effect, I know that an employee could be ineligible for unemployment benefits if they were let go for excessive absences in violation of the employer’s attendance policy. The employer merely had to have advised the employee that excessive absenteeism was grounds for termination. If the employee unjustifiably failed to notify the employer, the employee would be ineligible for benefits (even if the absences were due to illness).

The law was changed in December 2005 so that now, when the absence leading to a discharge is illness-related, an employer seeking to disqualify the offending employee from receiving unemployment benefits may be required to show that it warned the employee, in writing and in advance of any absences, that unemployment benefits may be denied because of a violation of the employer’s attendance policy.

This warning (in writing and in advance) is accomplished by posting the Vacation Notice poster in an employer’s place of business. The Georgia Complete Labor Law poster is available to reflect the vacation notification. For more information, contact the Georgia Department of Labor.

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