Georgia’s Separation Notice is Form DOL-800, and you can download the fillable PDF directly from the Georgia Department of Labor’s website. Every departing worker gets one, no matter why they left, and the form prints with line-by-line instructions on the back.1Georgia Department of Labor. Separation Notice – Individual Interactive – DOL-800 The Department uses it to decide whether the former employee qualifies for unemployment benefits and which employer’s account should be charged.
Where to Get the PDF
The interactive DOL-800 lives on the Georgia Department of Labor’s separation notices page and can be filled in on screen before printing. There is no fee and no login required to download it.1Georgia Department of Labor. Separation Notice – Individual Interactive – DOL-800
What You Have to Put on the Form
On the employer side, you need your business name, mailing address, telephone number, and your eight-digit Georgia DOL Account Number (the same number that appears on your Quarterly Tax and Wage Report). The form does not ask for a Federal Employer Identification Number.1Georgia Department of Labor. Separation Notice – Individual Interactive – DOL-800
For the worker, enter their full legal name and Social Security Number. If the person worked under a different name than the one on their Social Security card, include both. You’ll also enter the dates of the most recent period of employment, from start date through last day worked.1Georgia Department of Labor. Separation Notice – Individual Interactive – DOL-800
The reason-for-separation section is the part most likely to affect the worker’s eligibility. If the separation was due to lack of work, check the box. For anything else, write a clear explanation of what actually happened. Vague entries like “policy violation” invite follow-up questions from the Department of Labor.1Georgia Department of Labor. Separation Notice – Individual Interactive – DOL-800
Several additional fields catch employers off guard:
- Any severance pay, separation pay, or wages-in-lieu-of-notice the employee received. Earned vacation pay and regular wages don’t go here.
- The employee’s average weekly wage.
- If the person retired, the retirement pay amount and the percentage of contributions the employer funded.
- A yes-or-no answer to whether the employee earned at least $9,490 in your employ.1Georgia Department of Labor. Separation Notice – Individual Interactive – DOL-800
An officer, employee, or authorized agent of the employer must sign and date the form, and the signer’s title or position must appear. An unsigned or undated form is incomplete and won’t count as a timely response to a benefits claim.2Georgia Secretary of State. Georgia Rules and Regulations Chapter 300-2-7 – Requirements for Employees and Employers
When You Have to Deliver It
Georgia Rule 300-2-7-.06 requires you to deliver the completed notice to the departing employee on their last day of work. Hard copy or electronic delivery both satisfy the rule.2Georgia Secretary of State. Georgia Rules and Regulations Chapter 300-2-7 – Requirements for Employees and Employers The regulation doesn’t condition electronic delivery on prior employee consent, but keeping proof the worker actually received it is smart practice.
If the employee isn’t physically available on their last day, you have three days from the date the separation occurred, or became known to you, to mail the notice to the worker’s last known address.2Georgia Secretary of State. Georgia Rules and Regulations Chapter 300-2-7 – Requirements for Employees and Employers This comes up a lot with remote workers, employees who walk off the job, and workers terminated while out on leave. The clock starts the day the separation happens; don’t wait to see if the person contacts you first.
If You’re Separating 25 or More Workers at Once
The DOL-800 is for individual separations. When 25 or more workers at the same establishment are separated on the same day, for the same reason, and the separation is permanent, indefinite, or expected to last seven or more days, you file Form DOL-402 (Mass Separation Notice) in duplicate along with Form DOL-402A (Continuation Sheet) with the nearest Georgia DOL local office within 48 hours.3Cornell Law Institute. Georgia Comp R and Regs R 300-2-4-.10 – Mass Separation Both forms, with filing instructions, are on the Department’s mass separations page.4Georgia Department of Labor. Mass Separations
What Happens If You Skip It
Failing to provide a separation notice isn’t just paperwork. Under O.C.G.A. ยง 34-8-256(b), an employer who willfully fails to furnish required reports under the Employment Security Law is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. Each violation counts as a separate offense.1Georgia Department of Labor. Separation Notice – Individual Interactive – DOL-800
The money most employers actually feel, though, comes through their unemployment tax account. Georgia Rule 300-2-3-.05 provides that an employer’s account will be charged for all benefits paid when the employer fails to give a timely written response to a benefits claim. Even if you later win an appeal and the determination is reversed, the charges stick to your account if you were at fault for missing the deadline. Once an employer racks up three untimely or inadequate responses in the same calendar year, the restriction on charge relief applies to each of those claims as well.5Georgia Secretary of State. Georgia Rules and Regulations Subject 300-2-3 – Tax Rates and Covered Employment Those charges feed directly into the experience rating that sets your annual UI tax rate.
Keep a Copy
Georgia Rule 300-2-6-.01 requires employers to preserve employment records for at least four years after the calendar year in which the wages were paid or due.6Georgia Secretary of State. Georgia Rules and Regulations Subject 300-2-6 – Records The Commissioner or an authorized representative can inspect and copy those records at any time.7Justia. Georgia Code 34-8-121 – Information or Records Shall Be Private and Confidential Digital copies are fine. Organize them so you can pull a specific worker’s notice quickly if the Department contacts you about a claim; an employer who can’t produce the notice has little leverage to dispute a benefits determination.
If You’re the Employee and Never Got One
Georgia Rule 300-2-7-.06 requires anyone filing an unemployment insurance claim to present a copy of the DOL-800 completed by the former employer.2Georgia Secretary of State. Georgia Rules and Regulations Chapter 300-2-7 – Requirements for Employees and Employers If your employer never handed you one, contact the Georgia Department of Labor directly. The agency can reach out to the employer for the missing documentation. Not having the form in hand doesn’t permanently bar you from filing, but it can slow the process while the Department investigates.
If your employer refuses to provide the notice, that refusal itself may count as a failure to furnish required reports under Georgia law. Document when you asked and how the employer responded. That record can matter if the Department has to assess fault.