What’s happening at the Georgia DOL?
Congratulations on Michael Kanell’s article on the performance of the Georgia Department of Labor “Many in state seeking benefits want answers,” News, June 20. The DOL and the state’s political leadership shows little interest and less concern for millions of Georgians who lost employment through no fault of their own.
At the same time that Amazon was able to build and staff dozens of new distribution centers and hire thousands of drivers, Georgia ranked 47th among states, according to the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Labor, in starting emergency payments to those who lost jobs. Amazon can deliver a toothbrush overnight, but after a year, Georgia still has 136,000 cases of benefit applications waiting to be reviewed.
Hundreds of thousands of Georgians and their employers have paid into the unemployment compensation fund, many for decades, only to see it fail when needed. Applicants report waiting on telephone lines for hours or days, files accepted, then lost, conflicting online documents and an inability to reach anyone to resolve problems.
Governor Kemp removed restrictions on tattoo parlors, gyms and restaurants months ago, but the DOL offices remain closed. The Atlanta Braves are hosting sell-out crowds, but the DOL cannot find a path to even limited in-person contact. If a tattoo parlor or a hairdresser can find a way to offer public service, why can’t the DOL?
PAUL HAGAN, ATLANTA
AG should stay out of state voting rights issues
I was not happy to see Attorney General Merrick Garland abandon his previous objectivity to join in the Democratic attack on our new voting laws. Discriminates vs. whom? How do you prove it? Anyone, black or white, can easily get an I.D., and can find a time and place designated nearby at which to show up to vote. The courts would surely throw this out.
NORMAN RAVITCH, SAVANNAH
