Georgia Labor Law Explained
Labor laws in Georgia are a combination of federal and state regulations all aimed at providing workers certain rights, while also providing a clear framework of what is expected from employers. These laws govern wages, benefits, working conditions, and labor relations. The scope of their application is extensive, covering almost every employer and employee.
A salient feature of these laws is that they regulate not only private employers but also certain public and federal employers, setting minimum wage, overtime pay, annual and sick leave, and safety and health standards.
For instance, the general rule of "at-will" employment is subject to change if a written contract exists between an employer and employee that modifies or overrides the at-will presumption . Certain employees are also exempt from the minimum wage, overtime, or other provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act as a result of statutory or administrative regulations.
Enforcement of these laws is primarily through the U.S. Department of Labor and the Georgia Department of Labor, which have the authority to investigate claims of violations and take appropriate actions. It allows for the filing of private lawsuits seeking back pay and other damages.
In addition to wage and hour regulations, Georgia law requires employers to provide certain benefits, such as unemployment insurance, and describes wrongful termination under various circumstances, including retaliation, discrimination, and harassment.
Minimum Wage Requirements
Georgia is one of the five states with no state-mandated minimum wage. Currently, its statewide minimum wage is the same as the federal minimum wage rate of $7.25 per hour and its minimum wage laws differ only slightly from federal law. As of 2011, Georgia’s minimum wage law specifies "wages" include "all remuneration for labor or services performed by employees of a business." Further, the minimum wage law specifically includes overtime wages, tips, gratuities or donated food, lodging, shelter or other accommodations as wages.
Like many federal statutes, however, Georgia’s minimum wage statute is particularly susceptible to numerous exceptions. The exceptions identified by Georgia’s minimum wage statute include a drayage driver for ocean carriers, motor and railroad carriers, press operators of a publishing establishment, as well as employees of a college or university required to attend classes in order to remain on the premises during normal work hours. Yet there exists one significant distinction between Georgia employment laws and federal employment laws. Georgia does not exempt employees covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act, but only those employees that are exempt under Georgia’s minimum wage law.
Georgia’s statewide minimum wage law applies to both public and private employers. A distinctive feature of Georgia employment laws is that they do not extend to employment agencies or contractors. Rather, Georgia’s statewide minimum wage law extends only to businesses in the public and private sectors that employ twelve or more individuals. In addition, a company must operate in Georgia for three years or longer before Georgia’s minimum wage law may apply.
Recent case law has caused significant debate with regard to whether Georgia’s minimum wage law requires employers to provide breaks to non-exempt employees. The cases arise in the context of pregnancy discrimination. In order to avoid a claim of sex discrimination based on pregnancy under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, the employer must provide reasonable accommodations for an employee’s pregnancy-related limitations, including providing extra bathroom breaks, modified work schedules, or the ability to sit or stand as needed as pregnancy-related limitations warrant. While some courts have concluded that Georgia law requires employers to provide breaks to employees, federal courts have concluded Georgia’s minimum wage law is silent with regard to the issue. Federal courts reason these provisions cited by courts as mandating breaks merely offer recognition of employers who voluntarily provide additional non-paid breaks. Until the Georgia Supreme Court weighs in, employers must continue to wait with bated breath to determine whether they must provide paid or unpaid breaks under the Georgia’s minimum wage law.
Overtime Labor Regulations
Georgia’s overtime pay laws require the payment of overtime to non-exempt employees who work over forty (40) hours in a workweek, at not less than one and one-half (1 ½) times the regular hourly rate of the workers. Georgia’s overtime laws apply to a myriad of occupations and industries.
There are certain exemptions from Georgia’s overtime pay laws. The primary exemptions include "executive" or "professional" employees who are exempt from Georgia’s overtime laws.
"Executive" employees: Employees whose primary duties consist of managing the business or a customarily recognized department and division of the business and who customarily and regularly direct the work of at least two (2) full-time employees or the equivalent thereof and on who have the authority to hire and fire other employees or whose suggestions and recommendations as to the hiring, firing, advancement, promotion or any other change of status of other employees are given particular weight.
"Professional" employees: Employees whose primary duty is performance of work requiring advanced knowledge in a field of science or learning customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction.
Employee Rights and Employment Protections
Employees in Georgia are protected by various state and federal laws that ensure a safe workplace, provide a fair pay for their work, and prohibit their termination in certain circumstances. Most of these protections are limited to employees and exclude independent contractors and workers that fall under other exemptions, such as interns, apprentices, and volunteers.
Due to the high number of individuals in non-traditional work arrangements, it is important to know whether you fall into one of these excluded categories. If you are unsure whether or not you are an employee or an independent contractor, you should seek a consultation with an employment lawyer in order to make that determination, since classifying a worker in the wrong classification can result in legal liability for an employer in the event that the worker sues for protections they were denied in the misclassification.
In the state of Georgia, workplace safety laws are governed by Georgia’s Occupation Health and Safety Act (GOHSA), which is similar to, but not as extensive as, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). Although GOHSA permits private employers to adopt their own safety and health programs and standards, all private employers must notify employees of the location of the GOHSA standards that apply to their workplaces.
Unlike OSHA, GOHSA only applies to private employers, so state and local governments are exempt from its provisions. The minimum civil penalty for violating GOHSA is $100, and the maximum is $1,000. Any safety program or standard that has been previously approved by OSHA has also been approved by the Georgia State Board of Labor (GBL) unless the private employer has notified the GBL otherwise. In general, GOHSA sets standards for:
The federal Equal Employment Opportunity laws (EEO) prohibits discrimination against employees based upon age, gender, race, national origin, religion, color, or disability. The EEO laws apply to private employers with 15 or more employees, as well as private employer entities such as employment agencies and labor unions with at least 15 members. However, it does not apply to employers that are related to or affiliated with the federal government.
The Georgia Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1978 (EEOA) is similar to the federal EEO laws, but it currently only covers state and local government employers with 5 or more employees, educational institutions, employers who employ government employees under a contract, and employers who operate certain state-run establishments. As a result, most private employers in Georgia are not prohibited from discriminating against employees based upon their "protected classes," which include:
Under the federal Wage and Hour laws (FLSA), employees are protected from being paid less than the minimum wage, and from having to work excessive hours without being paid time and a half for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. The FLSA only applies to private employers with 500 or more employees – essentially the only wage and hour protections that are available for employees who work for smaller private employers in Georgia are to be paid a minimum wage set by the state, which is currently $5.15 per hour.
Georgia’s wage and hour law only requires private employers to pay a minimum wage of $5.15 for employees over 18 years old, or $3.63 per hour if the employer provides food and/or lodging to the employee. Georgia wage law does not provide any other wage or hour protections for employees.
Time Off and Leave Policies
Georgia law does not require private employers to provide employees with paid or unpaid leave. However, if an employer chooses to provide leave, the employer must do so equitably. Specifically, Georgia law prohibits employers from discriminating in allowing and approving leave time based on race, color, religion, gender, national origin, disability, genetic information, age, or other protected categories.
As a practical matter, most employers provide varying types of leave for their employees. The most common forms of leave are sick leave, maternity/paternity leave, family and medical leave, jury duty leave, and military leave. Federal law requires employers of 50 or more to provide eligible employees with up to twelve (12) weeks of unpaid family and medical leave within a twelve (12) month period. This federal law is commonly referred to as the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"). In Georgia, in addition to leave pursuant to the FMLA, an employer must provide up to forty (40) hours of unpaid leave for jury duty, additional leave for absences as a result of serving in the military, leave for certain elections, and upon a parent’s request for school visits.
Under Georgia law, employers may provide sick leave in the form of time off for periods of temporary illness or injury . Unless the employer’s policy specifically prohibits the carry over of unused sick leave, an employee may carry over unused sick leave to the next year. Employers may not require employees to use sick leave that is earned in Georgia if the employee retires or terminates employment.
In Georgia the decision to provide maternity leave is up to the discretion of the employer. If an employer provides maternity leave to new mothers, the duration of the leave and whether it is paid or unpaid will be governed by the employer’s policies. The federal FMLA also requires covered employers to allow birth mothers up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a newborn. Federal law does not require employers to provide paid leave for maternity leave however. Nor does federal law require an employer to provide leave to new fathers when they have a child. However, the FMLA does require covered Georgia employers to provide new fathers up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a newborn.
Parents with, and females who are expecting, newborns or newly adopted children may also qualify for Georgia’s Adoption Leave law. The law provides up to eight (8) hours off for one or both parents during the first twelve months after adoption. Specialized provisions exist for government employees in the United States Armed Forces or military service. Military service members and veterans are entitled to time off during certain events and for other reasons.
Termination of Employment and the At Will Doctrine
In Georgia, as in most states, employment is terminable at-will by either the employee or the employer for any reason or for no reason at all. This means that, absent any independent assurance of continued employment such as a valid contract for a definite term of employment, the employee will continue in employment at the will and pleasure of the employer. The at-will doctrine is subject to a number of important exceptions created by statute and common law which afford special protection to certain classes of employees and under certain circumstances, including the following: While there is no general cause of action for wrongful termination in Georgia, it is essential that employers take care to avoid a violation of one of the above-mentioned statutes or a charge of violation of public policy in terminating an employee to avoid the risk of litigation. Employees discharged due to the assertions of fair housing rights under the Fair Housing Amendments Act, the Fair Housing Act, or state laws relating to discriminatory housing practices may be able to assert a claim for punitive damages. The U.S. Supreme Court has found that fair housing rights are created by statute with a corresponding public policy entitling fair housing rights to protection from infringement.
Child Labor Provisions in Georgia
Georgia child labor laws regulate the employment of minors under the age of 18. Although the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets minimum requirements for child labor, individual states may impose more stringent regulations as child labor is within the jurisdiction of state government.
The Georgia child labor laws prohibit minors from being employed in "abnormally dangerous," hazardous or detrimental work. Children age 13 and younger may be hired for limited hours in agriculture or as a newspaper carrier. Children age 14 and older may work in agriculture as well as at various jobs in retail, food service, hospitality or other industries. Employment of children must occur only outside school hours, and cannot exceed the maximum number of hours per day or week as specified by the Georgia Department of Labor.
Teenagers working in Georgia must be paid at least minimum wage. Employers who violate Georgia child labor laws are subject to civil fines.
Addressing Labor Violations
Employees who suspect that their rights under Georgia labor laws have been violated, may file a complaint with the United States Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. An Employee, former employee or authorized representative may file a complaint within two years (three years for incidents that occurred willfully) of the alleged violation. You can complete a complaint form online or by printing a copy of the form and mailing it to the nearest Wage and Hour District Office. If an employee thinks their rights have been violated it is important to file a complaint as soon as possible , although there is no deadline for filing an FMLA complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor.
Alternatively, an Employee may hire an attorney experienced in employment law to file a lawsuit against their employer either in state court or federal court, and if successful obtain monetary damages for violations of state or federal law. A private lawsuit is not intended to be a substitute for the government’s enforcement process, which can take quite a bit of time. However, many employees do not want to wait for government enforcement and some employees are entitled to attorney’s fees if they win their lawsuit.