ATLANTA — Labor Commissioner Bruce Thompson delivered comments Thursday detailing the findings of an internal audit at the Georgia Department of Labor. Officials previously said $105 million in unremitted funds were uncovered.
Thompson said the audit uncovered the funds - administrative fees and collected penalties and interest - that should have been turned over to the state treasury, but were instead "carefully hidden" in federal accounts the department held, which were "mischaracterized and undetected."
"The Georgia Department of Labor had much bigger problems than antiquated technology, poor morale and financial struggles," Thompson said. “It appears evident that several state and federal statutes have been violated by this previous administration.”
Thompson characterized this as a product of the previous labor commissioner's administration, led by former commissioner Mark Butler, fostering a culture "plagued with rumors and reports of incompetence, misappropriation and failure." Butler could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Thompson promised the agency would work to file unemployment claims more quickly and be more transparent in its reporting.
"When something like this happens, you would think it would come to light before now," Thompson said. "Our goal was to rebuild confidence and trust while ushering in a new era of credibility.”
Johnny Martinez, a business owner, said he and his employees had come a long way from the unemployment line and the headaches that came with getting their unemployment benefits over the last three years. Martinez said he had been receiving unemployment benefits for six months during the pandemic.
"It was a failure on multiple levels, and it was the kind of failure that impacted people on a very personal level," Martinez said. "We had people who couldn’t pay for groceries, their medical expenses or their rent who deserve this money.”
Martinez said it could take years to rebuild trust with the Department of Labor.
"It was their money, our money and yet now we find out what we knew all along – which is that they didn’t know what they were doing, and maybe even purposefully were trying to not do it," Martinez said. "That’s incredibly frustrating. It’s criminal to me, because this is something that directly impacts working people who’ve been put in a tough situation. They rely on the social safety network put in place, and then it wasn’t there. But it was there. Turns out it was there, and they just weren’t giving it out.”
The Georgia Attorney General's Office said it was not actively investigating this matter, though it did recently announce indictments against several state employees in a separate investigation of unemployment insurance fraud.
"We are aware of the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts’ (DOAA) investigation related to certain Department of Labor (DOL) funds, and we have been in communication with both DOL and DOAA," a spokesperson with the Attorney General's office said.
The Inspector General's Office sent 11Alive the following statement: "The Office of the State Inspector General has worked closely with the Georgia Department of Labor to combat fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption within the executive branch of state government. As I am sure you are aware, we are unable to jeopardize investigative integrity by elaborating on any aspects of current or potential investigations. The Office of the State Inspector General takes very seriously any claims of official misconduct and criminal activity and works diligently to ensure that public confidence in state government is maintained. We will continue to work with the Georgia Department of Labor and the Office of the Attorney General in that regard."
11Alive also reached out to the U.S. Labor Department and corresponding inspector general's office, but has not heard back yet.