Lawmakers to demand help for Georgians who haven’t received unemployment benefits

ATLANTA — Georgia lawmakers have unrolled a plan to help Georgians who have not received their unemployment benefits during the pandemic.

Lawmakers announced Sunday that starting Monday, they will hold daily press conferences for a week to address the issue. Officials said they plan to urge Labor Commissioner Mark Butler to take priority action to process backlog and resolve claims over the course of 30 days.

"The ask is for Commissioner Mark Butler to establish and staff an emergency call center for customer service questions that are not being currently addressed," Rep. Sandra Givens Scott wrote.

Channel 2 Action News has heard from numerous viewers frustrated with the lengthy process of getting approved for benefits. Some viewers never received their benefits at all.

"We are in a state of emergency and we need Commissioner Mark Butler to release the UI funds to the people that have been waiting for months," Rep. Kim Schofield said.

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Press Conferences this week will be held at the following locations at 10 a.m.:

Monday, August 3: Georgia Department of Labor, 1630 Phoenix Boulevard, Suite 200, College Park, GA 30349

Tuesday, August 4: Georgia Department of Labor, 148 Andrew Young International Boulevard NE, Atlanta, GA 30303

Wednesday, August 5: Georgia Department of Labor, 2211 Beaver Ruin Road, Suite 160, Norcross, GA 30071

Thursday, August 6: Georgia Department of Labor, 465 Big Shanty Road, Marietta, GA 30066 and Georgia Department of Labor, 3090 Mercer University Drive, Macon, GA 31204

Friday, August 7: Georgia Department of Labor, 223 Courtland Street NE, Suite 200, Atlanta, GA 30303

Georgia unemployment claims reach record high in April Georgia Department of Labor?s Mark Butler says April?s labor statistics also revealed that the over-the-month increase for the unemployment rate was the largest on record.

Cox Media Group