Did the Attorney General add the workers' compensation fraud and employer non-compliance offenses to the GCIC fingerprintable list?

Plain-English summary

Unlike the regular annual GCIC update opinions that cover all newly enacted misdemeanors from a legislative session, this opinion is a targeted supplement. The State Board of Workers' Compensation flagged two existing offenses related to workers' compensation that had not been designated as fingerprintable, and asked the AG to add them to the list.

Both offenses were designated. The first is O.C.G.A. § 34-9-21, which makes it a misdemeanor for an employee to fraudulently obtain workers' compensation income benefits to which the employee is not entitled. The second is O.C.G.A. § 34-9-126, which the Board of Workers' Compensation describes as its "primary enforcement tool for prosecution of employers who defraud the system by failure to have workers' compensation insurance."

The two designations sit at opposite sides of the workers' compensation fraud problem. § 34-9-21 catches employees who file false claims; § 34-9-126 catches employers who fail to maintain coverage and refuse to file the compliance forms that document insurance status. Both are pure fraud offenses against a regulated state-administered system, which fits the AG's general designation pattern.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2011. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Why did the State Board of Workers' Compensation flag these specific offenses?
A: Because effective enforcement of workers' compensation laws depends on tracking repeat offenders. Without designation, an arrest for fraudulent benefit collection or for refusing to file compliance forms would not enter the GCIC criminal history database, making it harder to prove patterns of misconduct in subsequent prosecutions. The Board recognized this gap and asked the AG to close it.

Q: What does O.C.G.A. § 34-9-21 actually cover?
A: It penalizes an employee who, "with intent to defraud," receives income benefits to which he or she is not entitled. The most common scenarios are workers who continue collecting disability benefits after they have returned to work, or who exaggerate the extent of injury or work limitations. Designation supports prosecution of organized fraud rings and multi-incident individuals.

Q: What does O.C.G.A. § 34-9-126 catch?
A: An employer's refusal to file workers' compensation compliance forms with the State Board of Workers' Compensation. Compliance forms are how the Board verifies that an employer carries the required workers' compensation insurance. An employer who refuses to file is typically an employer that does not actually have insurance and is trying to escape detection.

Q: Why is workers' compensation fraud a persistent enforcement problem?
A: Because it has high financial stakes (Georgia's workers' compensation system handles billions of dollars in claims and premiums) and complex evidence (medical records, employer payrolls, surveillance). Recidivism tracking through GCIC is one of several tools investigators use to identify repeat actors.

Q: How does this opinion differ from the annual GCIC update opinions?
A: The annual updates (2008-1, 2009-1, 2010-2, 2010-6, etc.) work through every newly enacted misdemeanor from a legislative session and decide each one. This opinion is a "supplementation" that goes back and adds two existing offenses that had been overlooked. The AG designation power under § 35-3-33(a)(1)(A)(v) is not limited to newly enacted offenses; it applies to any misdemeanor in the Georgia Code.

Q: Does this designation also affect the federal Workers' Compensation Fraud framework?
A: No. The state designation is solely about Georgia's GCIC criminal history database. Federal workers' compensation programs (like the Federal Employees' Compensation Act administered by the Department of Labor) operate under separate federal procedures.

Background and statutory framework

Georgia's workers' compensation system, codified in Title 34, Chapter 9, requires most employers to maintain workers' compensation insurance covering work-related injuries. The State Board of Workers' Compensation administers the system, hears disputes, and investigates fraud. The Board has its own Enforcement Division (later expanded by the 2012-3 opinion to authorize aggravated identity fraud enforcement when tied to workers' compensation investigations).

Fraud in the workers' compensation system runs in both directions. Employees commit fraud by collecting benefits they are not entitled to (returning to work without reporting, exaggerating injury). Employers commit fraud by failing to maintain coverage, misclassifying employees, or refusing to file required compliance documentation. Both directions of fraud cost the system substantially and undermine the no-fault compromise at the heart of workers' compensation.

The 2011-1 designations support GCIC tracking of both directions. Adding § 34-9-21 means employee benefit fraud arrests show up in the criminal history record. Adding § 34-9-126 means employer non-compliance arrests show up too. Together they support the Board's enforcement arm.

Citations and references

Statutes:
- O.C.G.A. § 35-3-33(a)(1)(A)(v), AG authority to designate fingerprintable offenses
- O.C.G.A. § 34-9-21, employee fraudulently receiving workers' compensation income benefits (DESIGNATED)
- O.C.G.A. § 34-9-126: employer refusal to file workers' compensation compliance forms (DESIGNATED)

Source

• Landing page: https://law.georgia.gov/opinions/2011-1
• Original PDF: not linked from landing page

Original opinion text

The State Board of Workers Compensation has brought to the attention of this office that certain offenses related to the provision of workers compensation are not presently designated as offenses for which persons charged with violations are to be fingerprinted. Those offenses are: O.C.G.A. § 34-9-21 (employee, with intent to defraud, receiving income benefits to which he or she is not entitled) and O.C.G.A. § 34-9-126 (employer refusal to file workers' compensation compliance forms). In addition to the list of fingerprintable offenses mandated by statute, O.C.G.A. § 35-3-33(a)(1)(A)(v) provides that the Attorney General may designate any other offense as one for which those charged with violations are to be fingerprinted. The first of these misdemeanor offenses is O.C.G.A. § 34-9-21. That Code section prohibits fraudulently obtaining workers' compensation benefits. I hereby designate any misdemeanor offenses arising under O.C.G.A. § 34-9-21 as offenses for which those charged are to be fingerprinted. The second of these misdemeanor offenses is O.C.G.A. § 34-9-126. That Code section, according to the Board of Workers Compensation, is the primary enforcement tool for prosecution of employers who defraud the system by failure to have workers' compensation insurance. I hereby designate any misdemeanor offenses arising under O.C.G.A. § 34-9-126 as offenses for which those charged are to be fingerprinted. I trust that my revisions of the specific designations of those offenses for which persons charged with violations are to be fingerprinted will aid you in discharging your duties pursuant to the Georgia Crime Information Act. Prepared by: JOSEPH J. DROLET Senior Assistant Attorney General