Georgia

Region
Georgia
Required to Report
Optional
What to Report
Any Pesticide-Related Exposure
State Office
Department of Community Health, Divison of Public Health, Environmental Health and Injury Prevention Branch, Chemical Hazards Program
Reporting Notes

For more information about reporting pesticide and chemical exposures in Georgia, please visit the Georgia Department of Public Health's Chemical Hazards Program website: http://dph.georgia.gov/chemical-hazards 

WPS Enforcement
Worker Protection Standard Enforcement Agency

Department of Agriculture, Pesticides Division: https://agr.georgia.gov/pest-control

Legal Services Referral for Violations
Coverage for Farmworkers
Optional
Limitations
Employer may elect to provider workers' compensation coverage.
Statute
Ga. Code Ann. § 34-9-2(a)(2) (2009) ("This chapter shall not apply to . . . farm laborers.")
Coverage for Undocumented Workers
Yes
Case Law
Earth First Grading & Builders Ins. Group/Ass'n Servs., Inc. v. Gutierrez, 606 S.E.2d 332 (Ga. Ct. App. 2004) (holding that phrase "every person" used in workers' comp statute defining "employee" includes illegal aliens).
Benefits Available for Undocumented Workers
Undocumented workers are eligible for temporary total disability. Earth First Grading & Builders Ins. Group/Ass'n Servs., Inc. v. Gutierrez, 606 S.E.2d 332, 336 (Ga. Ct. App. 2004) (holding that worker qualified for temporary total disability because his injury restricted his work ability and the employer failed to show that suitable light-duty work had been made available); Dynasty Sample Co. v. Beltran, 479 S.E.2d 773, 775 (Ga. Ct. App. 1996) (affirming an award of total temporary disability benefits to an undocumented worker). Undocumented status does not render a worker unable to accept meaningful work. Earth First Grading & Builders Ins. Group/Ass'n Servs., Inc., 606 S.E.2d at 335. Wet Walls, Inc. v. Ledezma indicated that undocumented workers might also be entitled to permanent partial disability payments. 598 S.E.2d 60 (Ga. Ct. App. 2004).
State Workers’ Compensation Website
State Board of Workers' Compensation
Online forms
Forms and Documents
Additional Information
Wet Walls, Inc. v. Ledezma, 598 S.E.2d 60 (Ga. Ct. App. 2004) (rejecting employer's assertion that requiring it to pay workers' comp benefits to illegal alien contravenes Hoffman Plastics); Continental PET Techs. v. Palacias, 604 S.E.2d 627 (Ga. Ct. App. 2005) (holding that the IRCA of 1986 did not preempt state workers' comp law, and therefore illegal alien could receive benefits).