Unemployment Benefits and Workers’ Compensation

Many people ask whether you can draw unemployment benefits while you have an ongoing workers’ compensation case. The short answer to that question is, “It depends”. In Georgia, you generally can receive unemployment benefits when you lose your job and are not at fault. Some examples of situations where you might be eligible to draw unemployment include:

When your employer lays you off because work is slow or the company is downsizing
When you are let go because you are absent too much from work but the absences are not your fault e.g. you got sick or were injured
Your employer has reduced the number of hours you work

There is a part of the unemployment law that says you cannot get unemployment benefits at the same time that you are receiving workers’ compensation temporary total disability or temporary partial disability benefits. However, the insurance company often fights paying you temporary total and temporary partial disability benefits when your employer lets you go.

If the insurance company is fighting about paying you, you can often file for and receive unemployment benefits while you are waiting to go to court about your workers’ compensation benefits. It is often difficult to work when you are still recovering from an injury, so getting these unemployment benefits while you are fighting to get workers’ compensation benefits is important.

If you have specific questions about unemployment benefits, you can find out some more information on the Georgia Department of Labor website. If the insurance company is fighting about paying you workers’ compensation benefits after your employer has laid you off, it is probably a good idea to contact an attorney if you do not already have one. To get a free consultation with one of of our attorneys about your workers’ compensation case, simply complete the “Need Help” form on this page or call (770) 214-8885.

What if I have other questions about workers compensation?

Georgia’s workers compensation system can be very confusing. You have to worry about getting the treatment you need and paying your bills while also worrying about not missing any deadlines that could cause you to lose your right to receive workers compensation benefits.

If you have questions, I would recommend that you try to get answers. To find out more about how to schedule a time to talk to me about your workers compensation questions, just read this short article.

Jason Perkins is an attorney who specializes in representing injured workers. He regularly publishes videos and write blog articles about Georgia’s workers compensation system and issues that are important to injured workers and their families.

To be notified of Jason’s new workers compensation videos, subscribe to his Georgia Workers Compensation Video Series channel on YouTube by clicking the subscribe button below.

Brittney-lee orourke

05:23 18 Feb 22

Amazing! Jason and his team were very helpful and had the best communication by far. Walked me though every step with great detail and had answers for any question I had. They handled my case better then I could imagine, it was a weird case and they stayed on top of it and kept me updated every step of the way! Highly recommend this Team! Thanks so much to Jason and his Awesome team!-Brittney

China Jones

18:58 08 Feb 22

I absolutely love this group of attorneys, when I was at my lowest they did everything they could to help me get justice for my injury. I believe if I were to have never picked my phone up and called the amazing group that helped me I definitely would not have received my idea of rights. If you have an issue and are just not sure please understand that they will help you, stay in contact, answer any question you have, and for sure get you the justice you deserve I thank them from the bottom of my heart and I will definitely refer them to anyone who has been hurt because they most definitely care about their work and clients.

Luv Locs

16:08 15 Jan 22

The entire law office was attentive and responsive to all of my concerns dealing with my workers compensation case.

moombi

21:14 02 Jan 22

If you must get a lawyer involved, you’d do well to work with Jason Perkins and his team at Perkins Studdard Law.They were thorough in gathering information and in sharing all the steps in the workers comp process specific to my case. Jason and the team were responsive to my bevy of questions and concerns.I appreciated the informative videos and consultations provided by Jason over video meetings and multiple phone calls.I hope I’m never injured on the job again. However, if I am and if my employer responds as my previous employer did, I’ll contact Perkins Studdard Law immediately to handle the case.

Dana Bess

23:57 10 Dec 21

Everyone at Perkins Studdard was kind and professional. They were always extremely responsive and answered all questions that I had and followed up to make sure I had an understanding of what was going on along with emailing videos to explain every step of my case so I would know what to expect and be prepared. Jason is a very genuine person and I trusted him with my case. He answered so many questions for me even before I retained him as my WC lawyer. I highly recommend him and his associates at Perkins Studdard.

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