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SPLC Attorney Discusses Lawsuit Against Georgia Department Of Labor

June 28th, 2021

The Southern Poverty Law Center has filed a class-action lawsuit against the Georgia Department of Labor.

In the newly filed lawsuit, the SPLC is citing unprocessed unemployment claims and failure to address appeals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Monday’s edition of “Closer Look,” Emily Early, the senior supervising staff attorney for the SPLC’s Economic Justice Project, told show host Rose Scott that the lawsuit was not filed to pay all unemployed Georgians.

Early says the complaint was filed to make the department promptly pay people who have been approved for unemployment benefits and respond to claims and appeals of people seeking unemployment benefits.

Ahead of Monday’s conversation, Labor Commissioner Mark Butler released a statement to “Closer Look” in response to the lawsuit:

“This is obviously another politically motivated lawsuit. Just like previous lawsuits, we expect to prove that this suit does not have merit. These groups believe that unemployment insurance should be paid to everyone who applies, regardless of their qualifications. The same groups should be more concerned with helping people go back to work in one of the hundreds of thousands of jobs currently available across the state of Georgia.”

To listen to the full conversation, click the audio player above.